Night at the Museum
by sycoandcrazy.inc
Summary: Holloween special, AU. Kagome should know beter than to touch things in museums. It never brings anything but trouble.
1. Chapter 1

Kagome stifled a sigh. The last thing she wanted to do on Halloween night was spend it wandering around a dusty museum, and yet, here she was. The museum had just gotten a windfall of old artifacts, and since it had come near Halloween they were doing a special showing from eleven at night to one the next morning. Her grandpa, obsessed as he was with old artifacts, had insisted the whole family go.

_At least I don't have to suffer through it alone. I tricked Miroku and Sango into coming as well._

Not that they were happy about that. "You know, Kagome, when you promised us a night of fun, this wasn't what I imagined," Miroku grumbled.

"No wants to know what you imagine," Sango quipped. "But he is right Kagome. This isn't very fun."

"I know," Kagome replied. "Sorry guys, I just couldn't stand the thought of suffering through this on my own."

"So you had to drag us along," Miroku sighed.

The three teenagers trailed along after Kagome's family, all of whom seemed to be having infinitely more fun than they were. The group stopped in front of a statue that stood in a corner. Kagome studied it and was surprised to see how detailed the carver had made it. It almost looked like it could breathe.

"This," said Grandpa, "is a depiction of a hanyou. Hanyou were half yokai, half human. But like anything with yokai blood, they were completely evil."

Kagome studied the statue critically. The boy, or hanyou or whatever, looked young, perhaps nineteen or twenty, which wasn't much older than Kagome herself. His hair was long and flowed out behind him, lifted by some forgotten breeze, and two dog ears sat on top of his head. He was half crouched, like he was about to spring on someone, and his hands were flexing wicked looking claws. His lips were pulled back in a feral snarl, and his face twisted in anger.

_He certainly doesn't look friendly, but I don't know if he looks evil. The more that I look, the more it looks like he was…scared._

"Kagome!"

Kagome jumped when Sango yelled in her ear. "Did you have to do that?"

"Since we've been trying to get your attention for the past three minutes, we thought it necessary," Miroku told her. He looked at the statue and raised an eyebrow. "So, this is the kind of guy you like; the bad boy."

Kagome blushed. "What are you talking about? He's just a statue."

"Him?" Sango asked teasingly.

"Well, the statue obviously isn't of a girl," Kagome defended herself.

"Could it be that Kagome has fallen in love with a statue?" Miroku asked striking a dramatic pose. "It was love at first sight!"

Kagome rolled her eyes in frustration and embarrassment. "It's a rock, Miroku! You're such an idiot!"

Miroku smirked at her. "I dare you to touch it."

"What? No way, we're not allowed to touch anything in the museum."

"Is it really that?" Sango asked, "Or are you worried that something might happen?"

"Like what?" Kagome asked.

"Well, it is Halloween night," Miroku mused. He leaned towards the girls and whispered, "Maybe he'll come to life."

"This is stupid," Kagome said. "I'm going to catch up with my family."

"Are you scared?" Sango taunted.

Kagome glared. Sango didn't normally join in Miroku's games. She must have been really bored to do so now. "It's rock. What's there to be scared of?"

"Then touch it," Miroku countered.

Kagome sighed. They weren't going to let this go anytime soon. "Fine, if it'll get you to shut up, I'll touch it."

Kagome glanced around to make sure no one was watching. She reached out her hand and quickly touched his chest, right over where his heart would be, had he been alive.

"Ouch! It shocked me!"

Sango laughed. "Kagome, it's stone. Stone can't shock you."

"Well it did," Kagome said rubbing her injured fingers. "Come on, let's get out of here." They caught up with her family, and to Kagome's relief they were finally ready to leave.

As they approached the exit, Kagome just happened to look up at the clock above the doors.

"Midnight," she murmured.

A sudden deafening crack sounded, making everyone freeze. Kagome looked back at the room where the new finds were.

"_Maybe he'll come to life."_

"It couldn't be," she whispered faintly. Her legs moved of their own will and carried her back to the room. Surrounded by a crowd of confused people lay the remains of the statue she had touched.

_It was hollow._

The stone laying on the ground was nothing more than a thin shell.

"Did anyone see what happened?" a security guard called out. Apparently, no one had.

"Oh dear, who would do that to museum property?" Kagome's mom asked beside her. It was the first time Kagome realized that her family and friends had followed her. Kagome glanced at Miroku and Sango. They looked almost as uneasy as she felt.

"Maybe we should go," Kagome said.

"Absolutely not!" Grandpa declared. "I must know who would do something so horrible!"

Kagome backed away. She didn't want to know. She just wanted to get out of the museum.

Miroku and Sango followed her. "It's got to be a coincidence," Sango said. "There's no way that has anything to do with you touching it."

Kagome took a deep breath. "You're right. It has to be coincidence."

She turned planning to wait out in front of the museum until her family got done, but was blocked by a wall of red. She raised her eyes to greet the smirking visage of the hanyou; the living, breathing, hanyou.

His golden eyes burned into her as he said, "Afraid not." He caught her chin in one hand and tugged her closer. "And you belong to me now, wench."


	2. Chapter 2

Golden eyes triumphantly stared down at Kagome, and she reacted at most any girl in her situation would. She screamed and slapped the man. He jerked back in surprise, releasing his hold on her and swearing in aggravation.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Miroku asked, catching her as she stumbled away from the stranger.

"What's wrong?! Didn't you see what he was doing?!" Kagome asked as she clung to him.

"But Kagome," Sango said, "no one's there."

Kagome stared at her dumbly. She looked at the hanyou, and then back at her friends, both of whom were staring at her with mixed expressions of worry and confusion.

"But he's right there," she said faintly.

"Oi, wench," the man said, still looking cross. "They can't see or hear me; only you can."

Now that was unfair! If no one else could see the hanyou, then her friends must think she had gone insane.

_Then again, I'm dealing with a mythological creature that only I can see…Maybe I have gone insane._

"Kagome, what's wrong?" her mother asked walking up to the group, Grandpa and Souta close behind.

What was she supposed to tell them? She didn't need her family thinking she was crazy too.

"It's nothing," Kagome said standing up and pulling away from Miroku. "I'm just really tired and stressed, I guess. Can we go home?"

"Of course dear," Mrs. Higurashi said with sympathy. "Come on everyone, let's go."

They filed out of the building quickly, and it wasn't until Miroku was helping her into the car that she realized the hanyou had followed them out. He was looking around curiously, as though he'd never seen a city before.

_Let's leave him while he's distracted, please let's go while he's not looking!_

The car door slammed shut, getting his attention. Before they could pull out of their parking space, he lightly jumped on top of the car.

Kagome had to bite her lip to keep from crying out a warning to her unsuspecting family as Mrs. Higurashi pulled out of the spot. They were taking a monster home with them!

But Kagome couldn't say anything. She was the only one who could see the man, so she was going to have to get rid of him before he did anything to her family. The question was how Kagome was going to get rid of him.

They dropped Miroku and Sango off at their respective houses and went on home. When they climbed out of the car, Kagome glanced up and saw the man was no longer on the roof.

_What the? When did he get off?_

Had he jumped off at some point on the car ride, or had he maybe stayed at Miroku or Sango's house? Kagome was relieved that he wasn't at her house, but worried about her friends' safety.

_But it doesn't make sense that he would leave. Didn't he say at the museum that I belong to him now? Doesn't that mean he would want to stay with me? Not that I'm complaining, I just don't get it._

Or maybe he hadn't really been there to begin with. Maybe Kagome really had imagined him. Surely that was it; temporary insanity or something.

Kagome went straight to her room and changed into comfortable pajamas for bed.

"Well," Kagome said, "if he's not here, I guess he's not my problem anymore."

Curling under her covers, Kagome quickly fell asleep.

* * *

Sunlight tickled Kagome's eyelids, urging her to wakefulness. Kagome wrinkled her face in protest. She didn't want to get up. Grumbling under her breath, Kagome ducked beneath the warm covers of her bed, earning a snort from somewhere above her head.

_Wait a minute…there shouldn't be anyone else in the room…_

Dreading what she would see, Kagome peeked out from under the covers. The hanyou was sitting cross legged beside her, his chin resting on one hand. "Humans sleep too much," he informed her.

Kagome stared at him. Finally, she pointed and said, "You are not here. You are a figment of my imagination, and nothing more."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Could a figment of your imagination do this?" he asked, and then proceeded to push her out of bed.

Kagome landed with a thud and a yelp. She glared at his smirking face. "What was that for, you jerk?"

"To prove that I'm real, wench."

Kagome stood, anger making her bold. "First of all, my name isn't wench, it's Kagome. Ka-go-me. Second of all, get out of my house!"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I plan to. But I need help."

"I said for you to leave, and I mean it you will-" Kagome stopped mid sentence and stared at him. He was willing to leave? He wasn't going to stick around and terrorize her family?

"Help with what?" she asked suspiciously.

"I need you to tell me where I can find the other yokai," he told her.

Kagome stared at him blankly. "What other yokai?"

He went rigid. "You don't know about yokai?"

"Until I met you, I was under the impression they didn't exist," Kagome said.

He looked stunned, and the full implications of his situation began to dawn on Kagome.

"How long were you a statue?" she asked, her tone more gentle.

He scowled. "I don't know. A couple hundred years I think."

A couple hundred years…that meant that he'd been torn from his family, from his time, his friends, and his own people even, and thrust into what must seem like to him an alien world, where he was utterly alone. Because Kagome was sure that there weren't any yokai left; how could an entire species hide?

Grandpa had always claimed all yokai were pure evil, but this one hadn't done anything to harm her or her family, well, except for the scare he'd given her at the museum. Sympathy welled up in Kagome; how could she not try to help someone in his situation?

"What's your name?" she asked.

He glanced up at her, interrupted from his own thoughts. "Inuyasha," he said.

Kagome nodded. "Okay, Inuyasha. I must admit I don't quite understand everything that's going on. Could you maybe explain it to me?"

He frowned as he thought about her request. Finally he shrugged. "Not much to tell. I was cursed into being a statue, but I'm also invisible to anyone other than you 'cause you freed me from that part of the curse. I need to find the other yokai though; they can't all be gone."

Kagome felt that he left some fairly large gaps in that story, but it would have to do for now.

"Okay then. We need to find out what happened to the yokai, whether they're in hiding or they're gone. I suppose you also need to break the rest of the curse. Do you have any idea how to do that?"

Inuyasha smirked. "Sure I do. You have to marry me."

* * *

Mr. Takamara wiped his brow with a handkerchief as Toshihiro Myojin examined the broken statue. Mr. Takamara couldn't believe this had happened in his museum, especially when a man as important as Toshihiro's boss had been the one to donate the item in question.

"I assure you we are doing all we can to find out who did this," he said, for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Toshihiro straightened and smiled reassuringly at the older man, his brown eyes glinting with good humor. To look at him, you wouldn't think a priceless artifact had only recently been destroyed.

"I'm sure you are, Mr. Takamara," Toshihiro said. "And be assured, Mr. Taisho doesn't blame you for what happened."

Mr. Takamara was relieved to hear this. Chikao Taisho was not a man that anyone wanted to cross.

"I've seen everything I need to," Toshihiro said. "I'll be going now. I'll be in touch if there's anything we need. And of course, if you do find out who did this, please let us know right away."

"Of course, of course," Mr. Takamara said quickly.

Toshihiro nodded. "I bid you a good day then."

Mr. Takamara felt some relief when the young man left. Apparently the museum wasn't going to get into trouble with their benefactor over this incident. He had been most generous in donating the artifacts that had been displayed on Halloween night, and Mr. Takamara didn't want to stand in the way of possible further donations. He marched back to his office, more determined than ever to find out who had broken the statue.

* * *

Toshihiro pulled out his cell phone as soon as he was in his car and dialed his boss's personal number. Toshihiro was one of the few privileged enough to have it; although, with that privilege came much greater responsibilities as well.

Chikao Taisho answered on the first ring. "Well?" he snapped.

"Inuyasha's statue was what was broken," Toshihiro confirmed. "He's definitely been freed. Funny thing though, no one saw him, or the person who freed him. The museum is at a complete loss."

"Hmph," Taisho said, that one sound conveying his displeasure. "I suppose it stops us from mopping up the mess that might have happened had he been seen by everyone. I want you to find him; he must be in the city still."

"Will do, Chikao," Toshihiro said, enjoying the benefit of distance by being able to use his employer's human name without threat of harm. Taisho was so stiff; it was fun to poke at his temper, from a safe distance.

A low growl sounded over the phone. "I expect results soon, Shippo," Taisho said, using Toshihiro's real name.

Shippo rolled his eyes. "Yes sir, Sesshomaru."

There was a click and the line went dead. Shippo tossed the cell phone into the passenger seat beside him uncaringly, grumbling slightly. Soon to Sesshomaru meant yesterday. How was Shippo supposed to track down the hanyou that fast? He had an entire city to search!

"True I was able to get the security tapes of the incident, but I don't know how much easier that will make things," Shippo mused aloud. "They just had to put Inuyasha in a spot where the cameras could barely see him."

It was better than nothing, and at the very least gave him faces to work with; not that faces without names was very much.

Shippo scowled in annoyance as he pulled into his hotel's parking lot. Really, this shouldn't have happened at all. Ginta was supposed to have been watching that night to see if anything would happen. Problem was, no had expected anything to happen this quickly. They had all been certain that Inuyasha would be sitting there for months at least before a girl broke the curse. So, Ginta had felt safe enough to take a coffee break, and now this.

"I suppose I could always give Ginta a chance to redeem himself," Shippo mused. His eyes brightened with mischief at the thought. "Plus it's always fun to rub it in to Koga when one of his people messes up."

Shippo retrieved his cell phone and walked to his room. Once safely there, he started dialing Koga's number. This could actually be fun. Provided of course that Inuyasha didn't reveal the existence of yokai to the humans and start World War Three. And if the information about Inuyasha that Sesshomaru had given him was correct, that was a distinct possibility.


	3. Chapter 3

Kagome was still fuming when she finally sat at the breakfast table with her family. Of all the nerve! He expected her to marry him? Just like that? Kagome was a kind and generous person to be sure, but even she had her limits. One of them just happened to be walking down the aisle to break a total stranger's curse.

"Are you feeling better this morning, sis?" Souta asked.

Kagome looked up from where she was vengefully stabbing her breakfast to see the worried faces of her family. "Oh, I'm fine," Kagome quickly assured them. "Just a little cranky with the lack of sleep I guess," she said nervously.

If only she could tell them that Inuyasha had just told her she was going to marry him, whether she liked it or not. Of course she had told him in no uncertain terms that if he laid so much as a finger on her, she was going to make him regret it. How, Kagome didn't quite know. She'd think of something.

"You'll have to be sure to get plenty of rest tonight then," Mrs. Higurashi said. "After all, you do have school in the morning."

Kagome nearly groaned at the reminder that the next day was Monday. Granted this was the last week before fall break, but she didn't need school right now.

_What am I supposed to do with Inuyasha while I'm at school? Obviously, I can't take him with me._

She was going to have to convince him to stay at home, somehow. _Or maybe I'll get lucky and he'll be gone before the week is out._

Kagome doubted that would happen. Her luck wasn't that good.

She finished eating and went back up to her room where Inuyasha was waiting impatiently for her. "Oi, when are you planning to feed me?" he asked. "I'm starving."

Kagome had difficulty curbing her irritation. She could understand that yes, he did need to eat, but did he have to be rude about it?

"You're going to have to wait a little longer. Mom is about to leave to go on some errands, and Souta is getting ready to go to a friend's house. Grandpa's started cleaning up around the shrine outside, so we won't have to worry about him."

Inuyasha grunted. "I still don't see why I have to hide from them. I'm invisible, they can't see me anyways."

"Because even if they can't see you, they could still see the things you move," Kagome replied. "Besides, no one believes in yokai anymore, and I don't need my whole family thinking they've gone insane, or insisting that I'm insane for believing you're real."

"Kagome, Souta and I are leaving now!" Mrs. Higurashi called from down stairs.

Kagome quickly opened her bedroom door and replied, "Okay, Mom, have fun Souta, I'll see you both later!"

The front door shut and Inuyasha shoved past Kagome and into the hall. "Finally! Now I can get something to eat."

Kagome glared at his back. Was it impossible for the guy to say excuse me?

Kagome followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen where he was looking around in some bemusement.

"That's right," Kagome said. "You don't know anything about modern technology."

Inuyasha scowled at her. "So what if I don't?"

"Here, let me show you something that you'll be able to make when I'm not around," Kagome said getting the kettle from its place in one of the cabinets.

"Where would you be?" Inuyasha asked.

"At school," Kagome said. "Now look, this is how you turn the water on. You fill up the kettle only so far, and then you turn the water off by turning the handle like this. To heat the water up you need to put it on the stove, right here, and this is how you turn the stove on."

She checked to make sure that Inuyasha was paying attention, and was pleased to see that he was. "Now we just wait for the water to get hot."

"What's school?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome was surprised by the question, but then figured it probably made sense that he didn't know. Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, there wasn't any school. The children of wealthy lords would have been taught by tutors, but the concept of school would be a foreign one to Inuyasha.

"It's a place people go to learn about math, science, literature, and other stuff like that. You start going when you're about five or six, and you absolutely have to keep going for at least twelve years. Once the twelve years are over, you can either stop and get a job, or you can continue to go to school at a special place called college. Generally, going to college is the best choice. People get better paying jobs when they go to college."

Inuyasha seemed to consider her words. "So going to school is supposed to prepare you to work."

Kagome nodded. "Basically, yes."

"Then why do you need to go? Women are supposed to stay home and take care of the kids."

_Oh, no he did not._

Kagome glared at him, feeling righteous indignation. "Because in this day and age, women are not restricted to only the home. Women are allowed to work, and I happen to want to get a job, thank you very much!"

Inuyasha looked genuinely surprised and confused; a look that quickly faded into irritation. "Sorry for asking," he snapped.

The kettle began to whistle, signaling that the water was done. Kagome turned the stove off and moved the kettle off of the burner. "Okay, the easiest thing to make for yourself is ramen. We usually have some in this cupboard here."

Kagome pulled a cup out of the aforementioned cupboard. "You have to get the plastic off, and then you open it like this. Pour the water in and just let is sit for a minute so it softens the noodles, and there you go! Instant meal."

Inuyasha took the Styrofoam cup from her and sniffed the contents. He took a hesitant sip of the liquid, and then his eyes widened in surprise. "This is really good!" he said.

He eagerly wolfed down the food, finishing within two minutes, much to Kagome's surprise.

"You aren't one for table manners, are you?" Kagome said.

Inuyasha rubbed his mouth on a one of his sleeves, but didn't reply.

"Well," Kagome said. "If I'm going to find out what happened to the other yokai, I'd best get going."

Inuyasha stood and followed her out the room and towards the front door. "Where do you think you're going?" Kagome asked.

"With you," Inuyasha said.

"I really don't think that's a good idea," Kagome said.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "And how are you going to stop me?"

That was a good question. It wasn't like Kagome could lock him up here. "Fine, you can come, just try and make sure nobody notices you."

Kagome walked down the side walk with Inuyasha following close behind her. "How do you get the buildings to be so tall?" he asked.

"Oh, well, they use metal beams."

"How do they make metal beams?"

Kagome wondered about how to answer that. She only knew vague concepts about the process, and probably wouldn't be able to explain it in a way Inuyasha could understand. "I don't really know," she said. "They just do."

After a few more moments of silence, Inuyasha asked, "How do those metal carriages go without horses to pull them?"

"They aren't carriages, they're called cars, and they go because they have engines," Kagome replied.

Inuyasha still looked confused, so Kagome fell into an explanation about engines, gas, and electricity that probably confused Inuyasha more than it helped. The explanation lasted until they made it to the library door.

"Now," Kagome said, "people are supposed to be quiet in libraries, okay? So don't be loud."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're the only one that can hear me, remember?"

Oh, right. Kagome felt a little silly, so she just went in the library.

_Now, where to start?_

Kagome went to the catalog computer and typed in the word, yokai. She scrolled through the results, ignoring all the fictional books. There were a surprising amount of nonfiction books about yokai, and Kagome carefully wrote down the name of each on a scrap piece of paper.

"Okay, let's see if I can find these," Kagome whispered. She rummaged amongst the shelves and located all the books. She wound up with a pile of about fifteen. She took them all to a table in the back of the library that was hidden from direct view by shelves.

"Are you really going to read all of these?" Inuyasha asked.

"Probably not," Kagome whispered. "I'll just skim them and see which ones might be useful, and put the others back."

Inuyasha picked up one of the books and flipped it open. "You can read?" Kagome asked, looking surprised.

He glanced at her, irritation covering his face. "Of course I can."

Kagome blushed, embarrassed by her thoughtless question. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."

Inuyasha just turned his attention back to the book, so Kagome did the same. Most she found were utterly useless, and if Inuyasha's reactions were anything to go by, they were also completely wrong.

One particularly old book did catch Inuyasha's attention though. "What's that?" Kagome asked him.

"It's describing different types of yokai," Inuyasha said. "It actually gets most of it right, which is more than I was expecting after reading those other loads of crap."

"There are different types of yokai?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha sent her a look of disgust. "Of course there are."

Anger sparked in her. "You don't have to make it sound like I'm an idiot or something. I don't know anything about yokai!"

"Kagome?"

She looked up to see Hojo staring at her with an expression of bemusement on his face.

"Who are you talking to?" he asked.

"Just myself," Kagome said with a nervous smile. "I, uh, tend to do that when I'm alone." _I swear, I was not talking to a nonexistent creature…really._

Hojo smiled sweetly and took the empty seat beside her. "Be careful you don't let too many people catch you doing that; they might get the wrong idea."

Kagome giggled. "Right, I'll keep a better lookout next time."

A growl sounded from across the table. Kagome glanced to the side and saw Inuyasha was glaring at Hojo.

_What's his problem?_

Hojo was looking at the books she had spread on the table. "Why all these books about yokai?"

"Oh, um, I'm doing a special research project."

Hojo looked up at her. "Really? What about?"

"Don't tell him what we're doing," Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome ignored him. "Well, I was trying to find out what happened to yokai. I mean, a long time ago, everyone believed in them, and were certain that yokai walked among them. So, now that no one claims to see them, I was sort of wondering if I could find any theories about where they'd gone."

"Hmm, that sounds like a tough project."

Kagome nodded. "It is. I've been here for over an hour and haven't found one theory yet."

Hojo placed his hand over hers. "Hey, tell you what. I'll do a little digging of my own and see if I can find anything."

Kagome smiled. "Would you? I would really appreciate any help…" her eyes widened when she saw Inuyasha suddenly appear behind Hojo, a large book in his hands. Holding it up over Hojo's head, Inuyasha let it fall.

"Ouch!"

"Oh my gosh, Hojo, are you okay?"

Hojo rubbed his head where the book had hit him. "Yeah, I think so. What happened?"

"Er, the book fell off of the shelf behind you. It must not have been put away properly."

"I guess not," Hojo said, eying the book with some uncertainty. Apparently dismissing the incident, he smiled at Kagome. "I've got to go; I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Bye, Hojo," Kagome said with a wave.

Kagome waited until Hojo was gone to turn her glare on Inuyasha. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.

"What am I doing? What are you doing?" he snapped.

"Being nice to a friend," Kagome said. "You had no right to do that to him!"

"He had no right to touch you," Inuyasha snarled. "You're mine."

Kagome's temper flared even higher. "I am not some sort of possession that you can claim. I most certainly do not belong to you; I don't even like you. The only reason I'm helping you find the yokai is so I can get rid of you. I will never, ever, marry you!"

"Miss?"

Kagome froze. She looked to the side and was mortified to see the librarian watching her.

"Um…I was practicing a monologue for school?" Kagome said, making it sound more like a question than a statement.

The librarian adjusted her glasses. "Whatever you're doing, please, do it more quietly."

"Yes ma'am," Kagome said.

Once the librarian had walked away, she glared at Inuyasha. This was all his fault.

"I hate you," she hissed before snatching up several books that she hadn't had time to look at yet. She'd check them out and study them later. She was too upset to concentrate on them now.

* * *

Shippo rubbed his eyes in weariness. How many times now had he played the security video on his computer trying to get pictures of the faces of all the people that had stopped by Inuyasha's statue? Fifteen? Twenty? He still hadn't managed to get clear shots of them all.

"Do we have to keep doing this?" Koga grumbled. "There has got to be a better way."

"We need pictures of everyone that stopped by the statue," Shippo said. "It's not my fault the camera was in a bad position."

Ginta slumped over in his chair. "_Everyone_ stopped by the statue. This is going to take forever."

Shippo stared at Ginta. Everyone had stopped by the statue. Suddenly, Shippo felt stupid. They didn't have to get pictures of the people's faces when they were by the statue; they just had to get pictures of everyone's face.

_You would think one of us would have realized this earlier._

Shippo set to work again, new energy running through his veins. The three wolves watched what he was doing.

"Why didn't we think of that sooner?" Hakaku wondered out loud.

Shippo didn't reply, but kept up with the work until he had gotten a face shot of every visitor to the museum that night. He printed the pictures out and Koga gathered the sheets up.

"So, what exactly are we supposed to do with these?" Koga asked setting them on the table.

"We use them to help us find the people," Shippo said.

"How are just pictures going to help?" Ginta asked.

"It's better than nothing, isn't it?" Shippo responded. "Now, we can go ahead and rule some of these people out. Inuyasha was supposed to be freed by someone who could fall in love with him, right? That means we can rule out the men and elderly women."

There went half the stack.

"We can also rule out the children," Hakaku said.

There went a few more pictures, though there hadn't been very many children there.

"So, that leaves us with a total of thirty five possibilities," Shippo said.

"Good thing it's a small museum," Koga said, leafing through the pictures that were left. He stopped at one though and stared at it intently.

"Find one you like?" Shippo asked dryly.

Koga smirked. "Indeed I have." He held the picture up so the others could see it. It was of a young woman, perhaps eighteen years old. She had long black hair that was…bouncy was the best word that Shippo could think of for it. Her face was pale, but not unpleasantly so, and her features delicate. Her dark brown eyes looked like they would show every emotion she felt, and her expression was a strange mingling of boredom and amusement.

"Wow, she's pretty," said Ginta.

"She sure is," Koga said smugly. "I'm going after this girl. She's mine."


	4. Chapter 4

Inuyasha paced in Kagome's room, thinking. He was frustrated with his situation and not sure how to make things any better.

This time was strange. It had so many new inventions that he would never have even thought possible. He hated having to have everything explained to him; it made him feel stupid.

Inuyasha stopped pacing and glared out the window. It wasn't just technology that had changed; the people were different too. The way they dressed, the way they acted, and what they did. Everything was foreign to Inuyasha.

Take Kagome, for example. Inuyasha had never met a woman like her. He was used to women being quiet and docile, obedient to the whims of the men they served. Kagome was anything but. She argued with him, insulted him, and even went so far to say that she hated him.

This was especially bad because to be freed from the rest of the curse, she had to marry him.

Inuyasha glared at the door that led to the hallway. Kagome was currently eating dinner with her family.

She was going to marry him, one way or another. Inuyasha was not going to go the rest of his life unseen and unheard. But how to get her to agree?

Inuyasha took a seat on her bed as he pondered this problem. He didn't think what he knew of courtship, and that was very little to be sure, would work well with Kagome, as it tended to involve just killing any other male that got close to her. He hadn't really even done anything to that Hojo guy and Kagome had been furious. He didn't want to even imagine how she'd react if he'd done more serious damage.

"I guess, if worse comes to worse, I could always just mark her without her consent," Inuyasha mused.

It was a common enough practice amongst yokai to do such a thing; however, it had never sat well with Inuyasha. Perhaps it was the human blood in him, but it had always seemed wrong to do that for some reason.

Besides, Inuyasha was certain Kagome's reaction would not be submission like it was, or at least had been, amongst the female yokai. She would rebel, and would truly hate Inuyasha forever.

Inuyasha scowled at the idea. He had gotten the impression that Kagome would not be an unpleasant person to spend time with if she was happy and liked you. Her resentment, however, would be torture.

Inuyasha groaned. Why did this all have to be so blasted complicated? Why couldn't breaking him out of the stone have been the end of the curse? But of course, nothing could ever be easy for Inuyasha. Fate wasn't that kind.

Inuyasha decided that his best bet for breaking the curse lay in trying to woo Kagome. The fact that she had broken him free from the statue let him know that she could fall in love with him; granted, that didn't mean she would, but she could. And of course, Inuyasha didn't actually have to get her to fall in love with him to break the curse. He just had to get her to marry him.

"I'm never going to break this curse."

* * *

When Kagome went to her room after dinner that night, she was still aggravated with Inuyasha. The nerve of that man! Acting as if she were some sort of trophy or something.

When she opened the door to her room, she found him sitting pensively on her bed. He looked to be deep in thought.

Kagome decided to ignore him for the time being and gathered her night clothes. She was going to take a bath and then go to bed.

"I'm sorry I made you mad."

Kagome stopped moving and looked over her shoulder at Inuyasha. He was glaring at the window, looking upset and defensive. It was hard to decide whether his gruff apology was sincere or not.

Still, at least he had apologized. That was a step in the right direction, wasn't it? Kagome decided to extend her forgiveness. It wasn't in her nature to hold grudges.

"I forgive you," she said, letting the last of her anger evaporate.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked as she started out of the room.

"I'm going to get a bath," she informed him, and then left.

Kagome sighed when she shut and locked the bathroom door behind herself. Why did this all have to be so complicated? Why couldn't breaking him out of the statue have been it for the curse? Why was she supposed to marry him to break the rest?

For that matter, why had she even been able to break him out of the stone in the first place? Surely other people had had to have touched him. So why was it that it was only Kagome's touch that had freed him?

Kagome turned on the water and waited for it to warm up while she mused over the problem. It really didn't make sense. So far as Kagome knew, there was nothing special about her. She was just your average high school senior, making average grades, and living a normal life (normal until now, that is).

It wasn't like Kagome had any mystical powers or anything. She didn't go around breaking curses on a daily basis. So why now? Why this curse?

The water finally getting warm, Kagome stepped into the shower. It would help if there was someone she could talk to about this.

_Well, I guess there is someone I can talk to…I'm just not sure I want to talk to him…_

Inuyasha was the only one likely to have any answers to her questions. Kagome just wasn't sure if he would tell her; or, for that matter, if she even really wanted to know. She got the feeling the answers would not be to her liking.

Kagome finished her shower and dressed for bed. She went to her room and found Inuyasha still waiting there.

"Where am I sleeping?" he asked her.

"The floor," Kagome said as she crawled under her covers. "I have to get up early tomorrow for school, so goodnight."

"Goodnight," Inuyasha said, and Kagome turned off her lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

* * *

Morning came all too soon for Kagome's tastes. It usually did. If only it was already fall break, so Kagome could sleep in. Reluctantly, Kagome climbed out of bed and promptly tripped over the figure lying on her bedroom floor.

"Ouch!"

"Are you okay?"

Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha's golden eyes staring down at her in concern.

"I'm okay," she said, rubbing the spot on her head that had hit the floor rather harder than was strictly desirable. Realizing that she was half on, half off Inuyasha's lap, Kagome's face flushed red and she quickly jumped to her feet. "I'm going to go get dressed," she said hurriedly. She quickly snatched up her school uniform and hightailed it to the bathroom.

She groaned after the door was closed. What a great way to start the morning. She dressed in her uniform and headed back to her bedroom. Kagome picked up the hairbrush and ran it through her hair. She always had a hard time controlling the mass of hair; it tended to do whatever it wanted.

"You're wearing that out of the house?" asked Inuyasha, sounding scandalized.

Kagome glanced down at her uniform. It was a simple short green skirt and a long sleeve white blouse.

She looked back at Inuyasha with a frown. "What's wrong with it?"

Inuyasha's eyes darted down to her legs, and then away to the side. Kagome was surprised to see he was actually blushing. "You shouldn't be letting people see that much of…of your body." Apparently he couldn't bring himself to say 'legs'.

That's right; in his time women wore kimonos, which covered everything. Inuyasha wouldn't be used to seeing girls in something that showed a lot of skin, and the last two days she'd worn jeans.

"This is the school uniform, all the girls have to wear it. It's required by the school; I don't have a choice."

Inuyasha scowled. "Whoever came up with it is a pervert."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Inuyasha, it's just not a big deal now days. I've seen plenty of girls wearing skirts shorter than this." Not that Kagome would wear a skirt shorter than that of her school uniform; she didn't have a problem with the school's skirt, but any shorter and there might be a few issues.

"It's still not right," Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome decided just to drop the topic. She wasn't going to make Inuyasha happy about her uniform anyways. "Inuyasha, while I'm at school, I need you to stay here."

"What?" he snapped.

"There's going to be a lot of people at school, so it'll be harder for you to hide. I'll be back in a few hours."

Inuyasha didn't look happy, but he didn't argue, and Kagome took this as a sign that Inuyasha would wait for her. She went downstairs then to eat her breakfast. Once she was done, she grabbed her book bag and started her walk to school.

* * *

Like Inuyasha was really going to let Kagome go out and about unprotected in an outfit that showed that much skin. He was no fool; he knew what guys thought about. That was one thing that would never change, no matter how many years went by.

This was why he was following Kagome as she walked to school.

It wasn't long before she was joined by two other teens; Inuyasha recognized them as the ones that had been with her at the museum, though he couldn't recall their names. The girl was wearing the same outfit as Kagome, which corresponded with Kagome's words about the outfit being required. Inuyasha was relived to find out Kagome didn't dress like that of her own free will, but it did bother him how easily she accepted it.

"How are you feeling this morning, Kagome?" asked the girl.

"Oh, I'm fine, Sango," Kagome replied with a smile.

"All ready for that Trig test, then?" asked the boy.

Kagome froze and looked horrified. "What Trig test?"

Sango reached over and hit the boy upside the head. "Miroku! That's cruel! Don't worry, Kagome, we don't have a test today."

Kagome looked relieved. "Oh, good. If we had a test in there today, I'd definitely fail."

"So, what did you two do yesterday?" Miroku asked.

"Kohaku had a baseball game, so I watched that," Sango said. "Then we all went out to eat to celebrate their victory."

"That sounds like fun," said Kagome. "You'll have to tell him I said congratulations for winning."

Sango smiled. "Sure thing."

"What did you do, Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"Oh, well, not much. I was pretty lazy yesterday. I, um, did swing by the library for a little while."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Kagome was no good at hiding anything. Her sentence just screamed 'I keeping something from you!'

"What were you doing at the library?" Sango asked.

"Nothing really…I was just bored when I went there."

"You should have stopped at my house then," said Miroku. "I was home all day and it's closer than the library."

Kagome rubbed the back of her head. "Oh well, I guess I just didn't think about it."

Inuyasha was relieved when they made it to the school. Listening to their conversation was getting tedious.

He was surprised by the amount of people in the school. He quickly decided that trying to go inside the building would be a bad idea. People would run into him constantly.

Luckily, almost every wall was covered in windows, so he was able to track Kagome through the building easily enough.

Inuyasha scowled as he followed them. Kagome had said no one noticed the skirts. If she truly believed that, she was the most oblivious person he'd ever met. Eyes followed both her and Sango constantly, but neither girl seemed aware. Miroku however, was aware of the looks. Inuyasha noted that Miroku tended to place himself between the girls and whatever boys may be looking at them.

Finally, the three made it to a room they seemed to plan to stay in for a while. Inuyasha settle in a tree outside the window where he could easily see the whole room. They sat in some funny looking chairs that had little tables attached to them.

There were quite a few people in the room, but if Inuyasha concentrated, he could pick out Kagome's words from the rest of the crowd. She and her friends continued to talk about senseless things, but then that Hojo guy from the day before made his way to Kagome's desk.

Inuyasha growled as the guy smiled down at Kagome, and she responded with a beaming smile of her own.

"Good morning, Kagome," he said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Hojo," she responded.

"I looked into that project a bit for you yesterday," he said, getting looks of confusion from Miroku and Sango.

For her part, Kagome looked nervous, though Hojo didn't seem to notice. "Did you?"

Hojo nodded. "Yup. My dad said he knows this old priestess lady, who's supposed to be an expert when it comes to yokai. She might know something about where they've supposedly gone to. I got her name and address for you," he added, handing her a slip of paper.

"Thank you very much, Hojo," Kagome said, accepting the paper.

"Well, I'll talk to you later," Hojo said, retreating with a wave.

"Kagome," Sango started when he was gone, but was interrupted.

"Settle down, students! Get to your desks! It's time to start working."

Inuyasha watched the class, and was soon both bored and confused. What was the meaning of all those letters and numbers and shapes? Inuyasha didn't understand a thing the man was trying to teach, and it all seemed rather useless anyways. Surely no one really used all that junk?

Inuyasha finally concluded it was the result of someone who had gotten very bored, and decided to think of a way to confuse everyone till they had a headache.

The class finally ended, giving the students a short break. Kagome laid her head on her desk. "I absolutely hate Trig," she said.

"It's not that hard," Miroku said.

Kagome pointed a finger at him without looking up. "You are a genius, and therefore your opinion does not count."

"Kagome," Sango said. "We need to talk about this yokai thing. Why are you trying to find out what happened to them?"

"No reason," Kagome said quickly. "Just plain old curiosity, really."

"Kagome, this doesn't have something to do with what happened at the museum, does it?" Miroku asked.

"You haven't still been…seeing something, have you?" asked Sango worriedly.

Inuyasha could see her tension, even from behind the window. Would she tell them? Or would she try and keep it a secret?

So far Kagome seemed to want to keep him a secret, fearing that people would think her insane if they knew she could see him. It was, Inuyasha conceded, an understandable fear if no one believed that yokai existed.

What did they do to people in this time that were insane? In his time, the insane were killed, as they were only a danger to themselves and everyone else. Was that practice still followed now?

Inuyasha felt worry pool inside him. He didn't want Kagome to be endangered. She hadn't done anything to deserve being harmed. Plus, if she was dead he would remain cursed forever.

Kagome sighed and looked resigned. She was going to tell.

Inuyasha stood up on his tree branch. He couldn't let her put herself in danger like this. He rapped loudly on the window, getting the attention of the whole class.

While the students were puzzling over what had hit the window, Kagome gaped at him. Her expression was actually quite humorous.

"Don't tell them," he said loudly, shaking his head to make sure she'd get the message.

Kagome stiffly turned away to stare at the front of the classroom. It looked like she was trying to convince herself that he wasn't there.

The teacher got the students in order again, and a new class started, preventing Sango and Miroku from questioning Kagome any more.

Inuyasha settled back on his branch satisfied for now. He was certain that Kagome wouldn't tell them anything now.


	5. Chapter 5

Kagome didn't absorb anything that the teacher said. It was all a stunned blur. Inuyasha had followed her. She had told him to stay home, had explained the necessity of it, but he was still here, right outside her classroom window.

Not only that, Miroku and Sango were suspicious, wanting to know what was going on with Kagome. Should she tell them about Inuyasha? He had made it clear that she wasn't supposed to tell.

But she needed help. Miroku and Sango might be the only ones that would really believe her, having been there on Halloween night.

_Or they might not believe me, and get me sent to the loony bin._

Not that they would really send her to an insane asylum. But they might convince her mother she needed to see a shrink, and that would be awkward, not to mention humiliating.

Still, she was certain that they wouldn't stop questioning her. They were her friends after all, and friends have a habit of being uncomfortably nosy if they think something is wrong. At times that could be a good thing. At times like this, it was very much a bad thing.

Kagome managed to avoid speaking to them until lunch thanks to teachers and frequent bathroom breaks. However, when lunch time came she had no more excuses to use.

After getting her food, Kagome reluctantly made her way to their usual table. She was half tempted not to sit with them like usual, but that would be like painting a big sign saying, "Come find me! I'm keeping secrets from you!"

She sat down and internally winced at Miroku and Sango's serious looks. There was no doubt she was going to have to tell them something. Just what she would tell them was up for debate.

"Kagome," Miroku said, "we want you to tell us what's going on."

"And no more trying to run away from this conversation," Sango added.

Kagome took a bite of food to stall for time. What to say, what to say?

"Well," she started, "would you two believe me if I said that the statue that broke at the museum was actually a hanyou named Inuyasha that lived hundreds of years ago and was cursed and that's why he was a statue, and my touch broke that part of the curse, but he's still invisible to everyone but me, and to break that part of the curse I have to marry him, but I don't want to, and he wants me to help him locate the other yokai?"

Their stunned looks of disbelief answered her question.

"Right then," Kagome said. "It's good you two don't believe that because it's not true."

"Kagome," Miroku said, "you don't mean to say that you think that statue that we saw actually came to life and is following you?"

"No, I don't," Kagome replied. "Weren't you listening? I said that wasn't true."

"After you could tell we didn't believe you," Sango said.

"It was just a joke!" Kagome said. "Really guys, I was kidding! You take things too literally."

Miroku crossed his arms and frowned at her. "It's difficult not to after you claimed to see someone at the museum. And you can't tell us that was a joke; we know you really believed someone was there."

Shoot, he had her there. "Look, I know you two mean well," Kagome said, "but you aren't helping by interrogating me. This is something I'm going to have to deal with on my own, much as I'd rather not."

"So you are seeing something," Sango said, worry crossing her face.

"I'm not crazy," Kagome said quickly. The last thing she wanted was for her best friends to think she was insane. "I almost wish I was, but I'm not."

"Kagome," Miroku started, but she cut him off.

"Don't. Don't say anything. Can we just pretend we didn't have this conversation?" Kagome pleaded.

Miroku and Sango shared a look, and seemed to come to an agreement.

"All right, Kagome," Sango said. "We'll drop it for now."

"Thanks," Kagome said with relief. She probably shouldn't have said anything. They didn't believe her after all. But maybe, if they hung around her enough, Inuyasha would wind up inadvertently convincing them of his existence. She'd already planted the seed. The strange, unexplainable things just needed to start happening.

The school day went by normally after that. Kagome did catch glimpses of Inuyasha outside the windows every so often. She didn't think he ever came into the building itself, which was a good thing. She wanted to convince Miroku and Sango he was real, but didn't want to start a school wide panic.

After school ended, Kagome walked home with Sango and Miroku as usual, Inuyasha following somewhere behind. When they came to the intersection where they normally went their separate ways, however, they stayed with her. It seemed they planned to spend the afternoon at her house. Kagome didn't mind. It was just a chance that she might get to prove Inuyasha was real.

They made it to the steps that led up to her house when loud voices distracted them.

"This is stupid! Do you realize how long it will take for us to go door to door with this?"

"I know, but we don't have any better ideas. We've got almost no information to work with after all."

Two men came around the bend of the sidewalk and into sight. The one in the lead was irritated, but very good looking; Kagome would guess his age to be around twenty five. He had long brown hair pulled back in a pony tail, and bright, if aggravated, blue eyes. He was tall, and it was easy to see that working out was one of his favorite pass times.

The second man was following close behind, but almost having to jog to keep up. He wasn't ugly, but compared to his handsome companion, he was very plain.

The first man's eyes landed on Kagome, and his walk immediately slowed. A smirk pulled at his mouth and he sauntered over to where she stood with her friends.

"Good afternoon miss. My name is Katsutoshi, and my partner here is Goro. We're with the museum. You wouldn't have happened to have been there on Halloween night, would you?"

Kagome felt uneasy under his penetrating stare. He had looked like he recognized her when he saw her, and she got the feeling that he already knew she'd been at the museum.

"Yes sir," she said politely. "All three of us were there."

Katsutoshi glanced side to side, as if just noticing that Miroku and Sango were present. "I see. Well, I have a few questions I'd like to ask the three of you then."

"Okay," Kagome said, not moving from her spot. There was no way she was inviting him inside her home. She didn't trust this guy.

"Were the three of you there when the statue was broken?" he asked.

"We were," Miroku answered, even though the question had been more directed to Kagome. "But we were on our way out, so we didn't see anything."

Katsutoshi sent him a slightly irritated look before turning his attention back to Kagome. "Did you happen to see anything strange afterwards?"

Unease swept through Kagome. "Strange like what, exactly?"

"Oh, anything," Katsutoshi said. "Did anyone act strange, perhaps look suspicious? You see, it's very important that we find whoever it is that broke the statue."

"How would we know if someone was acting strange?" Sango asked. "After all, the whole situation was weird. I mean, we've never been somewhere where stuff was vandalized before."

"I'm sorry we can't be of more help, but we really don't know anything," Miroku said, stepping in front of Kagome. Kagome was relieved that Miroku had noticed her discomfort.

A slight noise from behind made Kagome glance back. Inuyasha was standing near, glowering in Katsutoshi's direction. A barely audible growl rumbled through him.

When she looked ahead, Kagome saw that Katsutoshi was looking over her shoulder, staring at the general area Inuyasha was in. It was apparent that Katsutoshi couldn't see Inuyasha, but he knew something was there, that was for certain.

"Well, if you remember anything, please give me a call," Katsutoshi said. Moving quickly, he maneuvered around Miroku and pressed a small card in Kagome's hand. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, "I look forward to seeing you again." Then he moved back to his previous position. It all took a matter of seconds, faster than Miroku had been able to respond.

Katsutoshi nodded at them. "Have a nice day." Then he and Goro walked away.

When they were gone, Kagome looked down at the card in her hand and said, "That officially goes under the list of creepiest things that have ever happened to me."

"Definitely," Sango said. "That guy was too weird."

"Let's go up to your house now," Miroku suggested. Kagome was only too happy to comply.

* * *

Koga whipped out his cell phone as soon as the humans were out of ear shot. This had turned into a good day. First, he had located the girl whose picture had so captivated him. Second, he had located Inuyasha before the kitsune.

Granted, he hadn't seen Inuyasha, but Koga had sensed his presence. Plus he'd been able to smell the mutt's scent on his girl. Sesshomaru was going to be pleased that they'd found Inuyasha so quickly. Or at least he was going to be as pleased as Sesshomaru ever got.

Koga dialed his boss's number and waited for him to answer.

"Yes?"

"I found him."

"I'm on my way."

* * *

"You guys want a snack?" Kagome asked as they took off their shoes by the front door.

"That sounds good," Sango said.

Kagome led the way to the kitchen and searched the cupboards for some sort of snack food. While doing so, she caught sight of Inuyasha leaning on the door frame. She paused in her movements. When she stopped and thought about it, it could actually be pretty easy to prove Inuyasha's existence and her own sanity…or insanity if she was completely wrong. It all hinged on whether or not Inuyasha would cooperate though.

Kagome picked up an apple, and without warning, she flung it as hard as she could at Inuyasha. He reacted as she'd hoped he would, and caught the apple.

"Kagome, what the heck? Why are you throwing food at me?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Kagome," Miroku said slowly, his eyes wide. "Why is the apple floating in midair?"

Kagome smiled victoriously. It had worked! "Miroku, Sango, meet Inuyasha. Inuyasha, meet Miroku and Sango."

Inuyasha still looked annoyed, but understanding as well. "I thought I told you not to tell them."

"No, this can't be right," Sango said. "There is not some invisible person standing there holding that apple. You've got it on a string or something."

Kagome didn't bother to point out that she hadn't had time to set up and elaborate trick like that. She just smugly said, "They why don't you pick the apple up and see?"

Sango looked between her and the apple, and finally walked to where Inuyasha was standing, holding the apple out. Sango reached out to take the apple, and her face paled. Kagome could see that when Sango's hand had closed over the apple, she was also touching Inuyasha's hand.

"No way," Sango whispered. Her finger tips followed his hand to his arm, up his arm to his shoulder, and from his shoulder to his face.

At that point Inuyasha caught her wrist with his free hand and pushed her back a bit. "All right already, I'm real, now tell her to quit touching me."

"Er, Inuyasha doesn't want to be touched anymore," Kagome told her.

"So he is real, then," Miroku said a note of wonder in his voice.

Kagome nodded and smiled. "I told you I wasn't crazy."

"So you did," Miroku conceded, sitting down in a chair at the kitchen table.

"Wait a second," Sango cut in. "Didn't you say something about marrying him in order to break the rest of his curse?"

Kagome cringed. Why'd she mention that again?

"Inuyasha claims that the only way to get rid of the rest of his curse is for me to marry him. I've already told him no on that count, though."

Inuyasha took a bite of the apple, not appearing bothered by her statement.

Miroku rubbed his chin, a habit he had when thinking. "And the reason you were trying to find out what had happened to yokai was because Inuyasha needs to know where they are."

Kagome nodded. "Right."

"I don't think we need to keep looking," Inuyasha said.

"Why not?" Kagome asked.

"I think that Katsutoshi guy was a yokai."

"Really?" Kagome asked.

"What did he say?" Sango asked.

"Inuyasha says he thinks that guy from earlier was actually a yokai."

"How can you tell?" Miroku asked.

"I can sense their energy; but his was really suppressed, and his scent was off. If he is a yokai, he's done a good job at hiding it."

Kagome quickly relayed the information.

"But if he's a yokai," Sango said, "and he's looking for whoever broke your statue, do you think he knows you were cursed and is actually looking for you?"

Inuyasha nodded. "That would be my guess. But I'm also pretty sure he knew I was there, so if he was looking for me, I don't know why he didn't say anything."

Kagome repeated what Inuyasha said, and then asked, "Hey, Miroku, Sango, do either of you remember who donated the artifacts to the museum? Whoever donated Inuyasha might have known the truth about him. They might even be a yokai themselves, or at least know where other yokai are."

"It was Chikao Taisho," Miroku said. "I remember because I read that stupid flyer so many times out of boredom."

"Who's Chikao Taisho?" Inuyasha asked with a frown.

"Chikao Taisho is probably the richest man in the whole world," Kagome told him. "He owns a ton of land in every country, and his businesses are involved in pretty much everything. I don't think there's anything this guy hasn't done. You don't recognize his name?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, but if he's a yokai that's pretending to be human, he'll have changed his name many times. If he's someone I knew before, I might recognize him if I saw him."

"Let's go get my computer," Kagome said. "Inuyasha says he doesn't know the name, but he might recognize him in a picture."

The four went to Kagome's room where her computer was kept. Turning it on, she typed Chikao Taisho's name into the search bar. She got hundreds of thousands of hits for his name. Clicking on a random one, she brought up a picture of him.

It was the general consensus of the female population that Chikao Taisho was stunning in appearance, he'd been name the hottest man alive by _Teen Zeene_ four years running, and Kagome had to agree. Tall and lean, Taisho was the picture of elegance. His hair was long, and a silky black, his face looked as though it had been chiseled by a master carver, and his eyes were a unique shade of golden honey.

However, Kagome tended to think that his good looks were marred by the constant look of arrogance or cool indifference that he always wore. Kagome didn't think she'd seen any picture where the man was actually smiling. Now that would be a stunning sight.

Inuyasha snarled, shocking Kagome out of her thoughts. She looked up at him, and was surprised to see him glaring at the computer screen.

"Inuyasha?" she asked.

"I know him," Inuyasha spat out. "I'd always recognize him, no matter what disguise he wore."

"Who is he then?" Kagome asked.

"His name is Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said. "He's my brother."

* * *

AN: Teen Zeene is a fictional magazine name that I made up; if any magazine does exist by that name, I don't know of it, much less own it.


	6. Chapter 6

"He's your brother?" Kagome repeated dumbly. That wasn't what she'd expected.

"Chikao Taisho is Inuyasha's brother?" Sango gasped.

"Inuyasha said his real name is Sesshomaru," Kagome said.

"But if he's Inuyasha's brother, and Inuyasha has been stone for hundreds of years, then how old is he exactly?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't know. He was almost thirteen hundred years old before I was cursed."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Thirteen hundred? How long do yokai live?"

Inuyasha frowned for a moment. "I'm not sure. I've never heard of any yokai who died of old age."

"So? How long do they live?" Sango asked.

"Inuyasha said he doesn't know. He's never heard of a yokai that died of old age."

"How old are you then?" Miroku asked.

"I was a little over five hundred before I was cursed."

Kagome related the information, but she almost couldn't believe it. Just looking at him, she would swear he was only twenty.

They heard the front door open. "Kagome, I'm home!" called Mrs. Higurashi.

"Does your family know about Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

Kagome shook her head. "No, they don't."

"Are you going to tell them?" Sango asked.

That was a very good question. Was she going to tell her family and get them involved as well?

_It would be easier than trying to keep him hidden, that's for sure._

"I don't know," Kagome said.

"Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi called.

Kagome opened her door and called down, "I'm in my room with Sango and Miroku! We'll be right down!"

Closing her door again, she looked at Inuyasha and said, "Do you mind staying in here for a while?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess not."

"Thanks. Come on guys, let's go down."

The three teenagers went down and found Mrs. Higurashi bustling about in the kitchen, finding food for dinner. She had set Souta to the task of chopping vegetables.

"Hey Souta, how was soccer practice?" Kagome asked.

"It was good," Souta said. "I think Coach is going to make me a forward this Friday at the game. That'll be really cool. I'm tired of being a midfielder."

Kagome ruffled his hair affectionately, earning a swat from him in response. "Good job, Souta."

"Sango, Miroku," Mrs. Higurashi said, "are you two planning to stay for dinner?"

"Thanks for the invite, Mrs. Higurashi, but I'm afraid we must decline," Miroku said. "We both need to head home now. We'll see you tomorrow, Kagome."

"Okay, bye guys," Kagome said, following them to the door.

"Kagome, do you know where Grandpa is?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

Kagome frowned. "Actually, now that you mention it, I haven't seen him at all this afternoon. I'm sure he's around the shrine somewhere. I'll go look for him."

Kagome slipped on her shoes and went outside. She walked slowly around the buildings of their shrine, listening out for any noise that might betray her grandfather.

She found him in one of their old storage buildings. "Hey, Gramps, what are you doing in here?" she asked, stepping inside.

"What? Oh, Kagome, it's you. I'm just organizing some of this mess. We have so many wonderful things in here, and we don't know about half of it because it's all jumbled up," Grandpa said.

In Kagome's opinion, it was all junk. Dusty, rusted, useless junk. But she would never say such a thing to Grandpa. For some unfathomable reason, he loved this stuff.

"Mom wanted to know where you were," Kagome told him. "She's making dinner."

"I suppose I could call it a day out here," Grandpa said. "Oh, I almost forgot, Kagome I wanted to give you these."

He handed Kagome a necklace made of pretty light blue beads. Kagome fingered the cool beads, wondering what material they were made of. She didn't recognize it off the top of her head.

"Thank you, Grandpa. They're very pretty."

"They are more than just pretty, girl. Those are prayer beads. They will help guard you from evil spirits and such."

Kagome was about to dismiss Grandpa's words like she normally did, but she hesitated. If yokai were real, as she now knew them to be, then who was Kagome to say there might not be some truth to his old stories and superstitions? Maybe the prayer beads really would guard her.

She found that it wouldn't work as a necklace because it had no clasp, and was just small enough that it wouldn't fit over her head, so she looped it around her wrist several times and found it made a very pretty bracelet.

She smiled at Grandpa. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate it."

The old man puffed up with pride. "You're welcome, Kagome. Now let's go inside and not keep your mother waiting."

They went back inside and found Mrs. Higurashi was frying up their food. Souta had been released from kitchen duty so he could clean up some.

"Kagome, Grandpa, I just got off of the phone with Hina," Mrs. Higurashi said excitedly. "She's going to visit us over fall break!"

Grandpa looked pleased. It had been a while since he'd gotten to see his youngest child.

"Is the rest of her family coming too?" he asked.

Mrs. Higurashi nodded happily. "Yes. Ryou was able to get off of work, and Kikyo's college has fall break next week too, so they'll all be here! Isn't that wonderful?"

"That's great," Kagome said, without much real enthusiasm.

It wasn't that Kagome disliked her relatives. She enjoyed spending time with them; however, while she might be willing to tell her immediate family about Inuyasha, she didn't want her other relatives knowing about his existence.

But how was she supposed to keep him hidden with three extra people tripping around the house? Hiding him in her room wouldn't be an option. Kikyo always shared Kagome's room when she visited, and Aunt Hina and Uncle Ryou always took their lone guest room.

_There's nothing else for it. If I'm going to keep Inuyasha hidden, I have to enlist my family's help._

"Mom, Grandpa, I need to tell you two something," Kagome blurted suddenly.

Both adults looked surprised. "Well, of course, Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi said. "What do you need to say?"

How to tell them? "I know what happened to the statue at the museum," Kagome said.

Grandpa immediately became indignant. "What? You know who broke it and you didn't tell the police, or museum officials, or anything?"

Kagome sighed. "They wouldn't have believed me."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Higurashi asked with a frown.

_Please don't let them think I'm crazy._

"Grandpa, you believe in curses, don't you?"

Grandpa blinked, looking a bit startled by her sudden change in topic. "Yes, I suppose I do."

"Well, that statue was a real hanyou who'd been cursed into stone. I sorta accidentally broke that curse, but there's a second part to it, which makes him invisible to everyone but me. So, he's been here since then, but that's why you haven't seen him."

They stared at her. "Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi said, "do you really believe that?"

Kagome's heart sank. They didn't believe her. "It's true Mom."

"Then introduce us to this hanyou of yours," Grandpa said with a frown.

Kagome felt hope well up. Grandpa at least was willing to listen. She walked to the bottom of the steps. "Inuyasha, come here!"

Souta walked out of his bedroom, having by now finished cleaning up after his practice. "Sis, you are you yelling for?"

Kagome ignored him, focusing on her bedroom door, which remained firmly shut. He wasn't going to make her look like she was insane in front of her family, was he?

"Inuyasha, this is super important, so get down here, right now!"

Her bedroom door opened, and Kagome was relieved to see Inuyasha's irritated form in the doorway. "I thought your family wasn't supposed to know about me."

"There's been a change in plans," Kagome told him. "They need to know, so can you come down here so I can introduce you?"

Inuyasha started forward, and Kagome noticed Souta staring in open mouthed shock at her open bedroom door. Kagome's mouth quirked in a smile as she thought of a trick she could pull on him.

"Inuyasha, do you mind grabbing Souta and bringing him down? I don't think he's going to move anytime soon."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but grabbed the back of Souta's T-shirt and lifted him into the air, carrying him down the steps. He dropped him to the floor when he made it down.

"Mom, Grandpa, Souta, this is Inuyasha."

"Oh my," gasped Mrs. Higurashi.

Grandpa looked gleeful. "I can't believe it! A cursed hanyou in my own home! And all my friends said I was crazy for believing in the old stories! Wait until I tell them about this!"

"No, Grandpa, you can't tell anyone," Kagome said. "I wasn't originally going to tell you guys about Inuyasha, but what with Aunt Hina and her family coming, I need help being able to hide Inuyasha."

"Well, of course we'll help," Mrs. Higurashi said. "But dinner's done now. Souta set a fourth place on the table for Inuyasha so he can eat with us. Kagome, you can explain this situation more while we eat."

They sat at the table, and over the course of the meal, Kagome told them everything that had happened. She did leave out the part about her needing to marry Inuyasha in order to break the rest of his curse though. On that score she told them that she was going to visit a priestess tomorrow after school to see if she could find a way to break Inuyasha's curse.

"I already told you how to break it, Kagome," Inuyasha said. "You're going to have to marry me."

Kagome chose to ignore him. When they finished the meal, Kagome helped with the cleanup. While washing dishes for her mom, Inuyasha asked, "Hey, Kagome. I need a bath; how do you work the bathroom in this time?"

Kagome paused. She was not going to explain the bathroom to Inuyasha. "Souta?"

Souta popped back into the kitchen. "Yeah, Kagome?"

"Can you go up to the bathroom and show Inuyasha how to work everything? He'll be right behind you."

Souta nodded. "Sure thing. Follow me, Inuyasha."

_How did I get involved in this mess?_ Kagome wondered. And when exactly would her life go back to normal? She had spent a total of two days with Inuyasha, and it felt more like a week.

_I guess I can't complain of being bored though,_ she thought with a wry smile. Until Inuyasha was gone with the other yokai, her life was going to be very interesting indeed.


	7. Chapter 7

Tuesday morning came too early, much like Monday had. Still, Kagome managed to drag herself out of bed and get ready for the day.

After getting dressed Kagome wrapped the prayer beads around her wrist as a bracelet again. Remembering her grandfather's words, Kagome said, "Hey, Inuyasha, Grandpa said that these prayer beads would protect me from evil spirits, by which I'm assuming he meant yokai. Could they actually work?"

Inuyasha walked over and tapped the beads with one finger. There was a small spark, like static electricity.

"It would have a long time ago," Inuyasha said. "The power is mostly gone now. I guess a strong enough priest or priestess could probably recharge it."

That might be something she'd ask the priestess about when she visited her this afternoon.

"Are you planning to follow me to school again?" Kagome asked Inuyasha as they went downstairs to the kitchen to get breakfast.

"Yup," he said.

"I guess its okay as long as no one finds out about you," Kagome said.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's not like you could stop me anyways."

That was true enough, but the way he said it irked Kagome. It was like he thought she was weak or something. Admittedly, Kagome wasn't very athletic or anything, but she'd never thought of herself as weak.

She ate her breakfast quickly and left for school. She met up with Miroku and Sango at the usual point. "Good morning, guys," she said.

"Good morning Kagome," Sango said with a smile.

"And how are you doing on this fine morning?" Miroku asked.

"As good as I can I guess," Kagome said. "By the way, Inuyasha says hi." He hadn't actually said hi, but it seemed the polite thing for Kagome to say.

"Inuyasha's here?" Miroku asked.

"He sure is," Kagome said, pointing to where he walked just behind her. "Apparently he plans to follow me to school everyday."

"I guess that's more fun than just sitting around Kagome's house, huh?" Sango said while looking in Inuyasha's general direction.

Inuyasha glanced over at her. For some reason he didn't seem completely comfortable with Sango speaking to him. "I guess so," he finally said.

"He agrees," Kagome said to Sango. "Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I told my family about Inuyasha, so when we're around them you don't have to pretend."

"What brought that about?" Miroku asked.

"Well, apparently Uncle Ryou, Aunt Hina, and Kikyo are coming to stay over fall break, so I'm going to need help keeping Inuyasha hidden."

Miroku grimaced at the mention of Kikyo's name. He would be avoiding Kagome's house over fall break most likely. To say that Miroku and Kikyo did not get along would be an understatement. They disliked each other with a passion. Miroku thought that Kikyo was arrogant, rude, and spoiled, while Kikyo was of the opinion that Miroku was an immature and highly offensive brat.

It had all been a misunderstanding really. Several years ago when Kikyo had been visiting Miroku had mistaken her for Kagome. At the time, Miroku had been going through a rather aggravating, not to mention embarrassing, phase where he had tended to…well he'd liked to grab girls' bottoms.

Needless to say, Kikyo had been less than pleased, and the ensuing fight had left them bitter enemies.

It didn't matter that it had been years since the incident, and that Miroku had outgrown his phase. Well, mostly anyways, but Sango was his only target now, though her mean right hook discouraged Miroku from trying to take liberties to often. The two still hated each others' guts.

"Are you still planning to go see that priestess this afternoon?" Sango asked quickly, probably to avoid another of Miroku's "I hate Kikyo" rants.

Kagome nodded. "I am. After all, I figure it couldn't hurt to at least talk to her."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for us to go," Inuyasha said.

Kagome looked at him. "Why not?"

Inuyasha scowled. "Priestesses tend not to like yokai."

Kagome frowned. "What's the worst she could do?"

"Purify me into ash," Inuyasha said dryly.

"Oh." That wasn't what Kagome had expected. "Well, I'm sure she won't try to hurt you or anything." An idea occurred to Kagome. She looked at Inuyasha with concern. "But if you're afraid to go to her home, I guess I understand."

Inuyasha looked insulted. "I never said I was afraid!"

Kagome managed to look innocently confused and surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you or anything. It's just when you said you didn't want to go, I assumed you must be afraid that she was stronger than you or something."

Inuyasha glared at her. "I am definitely not afraid of some stupid priestess. We're going after you get done with your school!"

Kagome had to fight a triumphant grin. "Well, if you're sure…"

"We're going and that's finale!" Inuyasha snapped and then marched off ahead of Kagome.

Kagome grinned at his back. That had been surprisingly easy, and more than a little fun. She wondered if he'd ever figure out that he'd been tricked.

* * *

Sesshomaru stepped into the hotel room with some distaste. Despite the fact that the hotel maids cleaned the room every day, it still reeked to his sensitive nose. Luckily he wasn't planning to stay long; just long enough to get the information Shippo and Koga should have for him.

"Well?" he asked, forgoing any polite greeting.

Shippo stood and handed him several pieces of paper, with the picture of a girl resting on top. "That's the girl that broke Inuyasha's curse. Her name is Kagome Higurashi, age eighteen. She lives with her mother, grandfather, and one younger brother. She's in her last year of high school."

Sesshomaru glanced over the papers Shippo had given him. They contained quite a few facts about the girl, but none of them were pertinent to the situation. "You are certain Inuyasha is still with her?" he asked.

"He is, sir," Koga responded. "When I met up with the girl, I could smell his scent on her. I could also sense him nearby, but I didn't actually see him."

"She hasn't told anyone about Inuyasha?"

"Not so far as we can tell, sir," Shippo said.

That was good. Sesshomaru didn't want to even think about the sort of mess he'd have to clean up if word about Inuyasha got around.

He'd already had to clean up more messes than he liked. Bigfoot, the Abominable Snow Man, alien sightings; all that and more were stories that he and his people had had to concoct in order to keep yokai a secret. The last thing Sesshomaru wanted was a war with humans.

"We shall be waiting for her at her house after school today," Sesshomaru said. "I'll meet you back here at two thirty."

Sesshomaru had no intentions of waiting hours in this small room for Kagome to get done with school. He'd go somewhere that smelled a bit more pleasant.

Sesshomaru left the hotel and climbed into the driver's seat of a nondescript car. Usually he drove around in flashy sports cars and limos, but his mission in this city required some subtlety; although, he would need to drive a slightly bigger car for his meeting with Inuyasha and Kagome.

As he drove, Sesshomaru reflected on the irony of his situation. There had been a time when he would never have cared whether or not humans were aware of his presence. There had been a time that he'd been sure that humans would one day wipe themselves out, leaving only yokai.

The humans had proved Sesshomaru's beliefs to be very wrong.

As a whole, the human race had turned out much stronger and smarter than he'd ever expected. They had survived, and had invented many things to make their way of life easier.

No, at this point it wasn't the humans that Sesshomaru thought were going to die out. It was the yokai.

Oh, it wouldn't happen anytime soon, as long as humans were unaware of their existence. But it would happen. Yokai did not procreate as easily as humans did; they never had. Still, the number of births on the reservations was dwindling, and the number of deaths was starting, oh so slowly, to increase.

Sesshomaru was of the opinion that the population would begin to increase again if they were allowed to leave the reservations and live where they wished. However, leaving the reservations was impossible. Humans were famous for hating and fearing anyone or anything that was different from them. They couldn't even get along with each other, so how could he expect them to accept yokai?

No, Sesshomaru was certain that the only result of revealing the presence of yokai to humans would be a war. At this point in time, Sesshomaru wasn't certain yokai could win that war.

And so, yokai were stuck. Unable to grow, they were dying out.

Sesshomaru pulled into a parking lot that was next to a park. He got out of his car and followed the path that wound through it. The park was beautiful, what with the leaves that had changed to vibrant shades of gold and red, but Sesshomaru couldn't get away from the noise of the city or the smell of fumes in the air.

"I hate cities," he muttered.

He paused in his walk when he heard a noise behind him. Glancing back he caught a flash of dark hair as the culprit ducked behind a tree.

Sesshomaru continued forward, listening to the sounds behind him. From the noises, Sesshomaru was able to discern that the person following him was either a midget, or a child. They were also not well versed in the ways of stealth.

Sesshomaru stopped by a bush, pretending to admire the last few late blossoms it held, and waited to see what the person following him would do.

He could hear them creep up behind him, slowly. At the last moment, he caught the small hand that had been reaching for his wallet. Turning, Sesshomaru studied the would-be thief.

She was tiny, probably only eight or nine years old. Her skin and clothes were filthy, and her hair was matted into knots that would likely take hours to remove. Sesshomaru could tell that her jeans and shirt had once been of good quality, meaning she was probably a run away. Her brown eyes were wide, and she had frozen with fear when he caught her.

There was a time, Sesshomaru mused, hundreds of years ago that he would have killed her without a second thought for daring to try and steal from him. Taking in her rake thin form now though, Sesshomaru found he couldn't bring himself to be upset with her.

"If you are going to steal you should be wiser in choosing your targets," Sesshomaru told her.

She looked surprised and confused, probably wondering why he wasn't angry with her. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

Slowly she nodded, still watching him with wide eyes. Sesshomaru released her hand. "If you come with me I'll get you some food."

Without waiting to see her response, Sesshomaru turned and walked away. He could hear her scampering after him, and without any real thought he shortened his steps so she could keep up. There was a small café right beside the park, and that was where Sesshomaru led her.

Sesshomaru paused when he heard her stop at the edge of the park. Looking back, he asked, "You won't come inside?"

She shook her head no, looking nervous. This only confirmed his belief that she was a runaway child.

"Wait here then," he told her. Sesshomaru went inside the café and ordered her a large sandwich along with a bag of chips and bottled water. He carried it to the girl who accepted it with a big smile.

Clutching to food close to her chest, the girl dashed back into the park. Motivated by a mixture of curiosity and boredom, Sesshomaru followed her, taking care that she didn't notice him. She went to the center of the park where several boulders sat together forming a makeshift cave. She crawled inside and disappeared from view.

Sesshomaru stood staring at the cave. It was probably where she lived. Briefly he wondered why the girl had run away from her home to live like this. Soon, though, he turned away. What were the problems of one human girl when compared to his own?

* * *

He'd been duped. It had taken a while for him to realize it, but Inuyasha finally figured out that Kagome had used his pride against him to get him to agree to what she wanted to do.

Still, even if she had tricked him, it wasn't like he could go back on what he'd said now. There was no way he was going to let Kagome think that he was a coward.

_No, she'll just think you're a gullible fool._

And he really wasn't afraid of the priestess. They'd never scared Inuyasha before. He was however cautious of them, due to some unpleasant meetings in his past.

Inuyasha watched the students spilling out from the school's front doors, waiting to spot Kagome. Really, it couldn't take that long to walk from the classroom could it?

Finally she appeared. Inuyasha had to admit as he watched her that he'd gotten somewhat lucky in the fact that Kagome was the one who had broken his curse; he could be doomed to spend the rest of his life with an ugly woman after all. Kagome could be called many things, but ugly, or even just plain, wasn't one of them.

It was one of the reasons he hated her school uniform so much. If she was going to marry him, he didn't want other males to see that much of her skin.

She said goodbye to Miroku and Sango and headed in the opposite direction from her house. Inuyasha moved so he was beside her.

She glanced up at him in some surprise, and then smiled. "I was wondering where you were."

Inuyasha shrugged noncommittally. "Tell me why exactly you want to talk to this priestess?"

Kagome sighed. "You're not still trying to convince me not to go are you?"

Inuyasha scowled. Did she really think that he'd go back on his word? "I said we could go, so we'll go. I just want to know why. You already know how to break the curse."

Kagome shook her head. "I refuse to believe marrying you is the only option. Besides, it really can't hurt anything to talk to her."

Inuyasha didn't respond. Really it was insulting how much she refused to marry him. Inuyasha supposed he shouldn't be surprised. Most people wouldn't find him a desirable mate. But still, Kagome was supposed to be able to fall in love with him, since she broke the first layer of the curse.

There was still, of course, the question of how.

Inuyasha stopped as Kagome led him to a staircase that went below ground. "What's this?"

Kagome looked back at him. "It's the subway. We need to take it to get to the priestess. It's going to be crowded probably, so be careful."

She descended the steps and Inuyasha reluctantly followed. He didn't like the looks of this subway.

It was somewhat crowded, but Inuyasha managed to avoid the people and keep close to Kagome. The crowd was nothing compared to the noise of the subway though. The roar hurt his ears and caused him to flatten them to his head. He didn't know how Kagome could stand it, and was more than relieved when they got off.

"Let's see, according to the address Hojo gave me, the shrine the priestess lives at should be over here." Kagome led the way the short distance from the subway to the shrine. Without a pause she walked down the cobbled path that led to a modest sized shrine.

Kagome walked up to the door and knocked on it. Inuyasha was surprised by the image of the woman who opened it. He was used to seeing young to middle aged priests and priestesses; it was rare for one of them to live to old age in his time. This woman was most certainly old, with wrinkled skin and gray hair, as well as an eye patch over one eye. Her single brown eye studied Kagome seriously.

"How may I help you child?"

"I need some information that I am hoping you might be able to provide," Kagome said.

The old woman turned her head slightly, and for a second Inuyasha thought that she could actually see him. "Does it have something to do with the yokai you have brought with you?"

Kagome looked surprised. "Can you see him?"

"No, but I can sense his presence. Come in child; and you as well I suppose," she said, addressing Inuyasha in the last bit.

They went inside and the priestess motioned for them to sit at a table. They sat on one side while the priestess sat on the other. "My name is Kaede," she said. "What is yours?"

"I'm Kagome," Kagome said. "And my invisible friend here is Inuyasha."

Kaede nodded. "And what is it you wanted from me?"

Kagome launched into an explanation of the curse and Inuyasha felt faintly embarrassed. True he had messed up and gotten cursed as a result, but he didn't like everyone being told about it.

Kaede listened to the tale without interrupting. When Kagome was finished, she asked, "Does Inuyasha not know the answer to breaking the curse?"

Kagome shifted uncomfortably, causing Inuyasha to roll his eyes. "Just tell her already," he snapped.

Kagome sent him a dirty look, and then turned back to Kaede. "Well, he says that I have to marry him to break the curse."

Kaede looked surprised. "That is all?"

Kagome frowned. "What do you mean, that's all? I happen to think that's a pretty big thing!"

Kaede's head turned in Inuyasha's direction. Inuyasha knew she couldn't see him, but it felt an awful lot like she was staring at him. "Either some of the information I have been taught on yokai is incorrect, or you have a kinder heart than I would have guessed."

It was Inuyasha's turn to shift uncomfortably. What did this old woman know about the customs of yokai?

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

Kaede turned her attention back to Kagome. "Yokai marriages are not like human marriages. It requires no ceremony, nor does it require you to give your consent. All it requires is for Inuyasha to mark you as his, which he could easily do whether or not you wanted him to. Am I correct in saying all this, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha stared down at the table. "Yeah, she's right."

He could feel Kagome's eyes on him. Inuyasha was wary of what he might find there. Finally, when her gaze didn't move, Inuyasha glanced up at her and snapped, "What?"

She had looked surprised and confused at first, but as he watched her gaze softened into a warm small. She reached out and took his hand in her small one. Still smiling, she said, "Thank you, Inuyasha, for not doing that to me."

That reaction wasn't exactly what Inuyasha had expected. He felt his face warm up a bit, and was horrified to realize he'd started to blush. Quickly he turned his head away so that Kagome couldn't see. "Whatever."

Inuyasha didn't know how he'd expected Kagome to react to this knowledge, but he certainly hadn't expected that smile, or for her to take his hand. Perhaps he'd been expecting disgust that yokai were willing to do that? He knew how a yokai would have reacted; they would have called him weak for not being willing to make her his. Far from seeing him as weak, Kagome's opinion of him seemed to have risen.

"If you were hoping I could give you another option to break the curse, I am afraid I cannot," Kaede said. "The curse upon him is yokai born; perhaps another yokai might be able to give you another option. Had a priest or priestess laid it upon him I might be able to find another way. I do believe that your only option for breaking the curse is to marry him."

Kagome sighed, though she didn't release his hand. "I was kind of afraid you'd say that."

"Is there anything else I might help you with, child?"

Inuyasha glanced over at them. Kagome was nodding. "There was one other thing I wanted to ask you about." She held up the arm that had the prayer beads on it. "Inuyasha said that the power of this bracelet might be restored by a priest or priestess who was powerful enough. Could you possibly do it?"

Kaede examined the prayer beads for a moment, and then shook her head. "I am afraid I cannot help you with this either. Were I still young I could do it, but that will require more power than I possess."

Kagome looked disappointed. This little trip hadn't gotten any of the results she had hoped for. Glancing down at the hand that was holding his, Inuyasha couldn't help but think that the trip hadn't been a complete waste for him though.

* * *

Kagome was relieved to be home. She had had a long day, and wanted nothing more than to be able to relax. All she had to do was climb up the stairs and to her house.

Before she could take one step however, a limo pulled up to the curb and stopped beside her. Kagome stopped walking as well. What was this?

The door opened and the man from yesterday, Katsutoshi, stepped out, along with a man with auburn hair and brown eyes that Kagome hadn't seen before.

"Hello again, Kagome," Katsutoshi said. "We hate to impose, but our boss needs to speak to you and Inuyasha." He slipped one arm around her shoulders, much to Kagome's embarrassment and distress. She also wanted to know how he knew her name; she'd never told him. "Where is Inuyasha anyways?"

Kagome almost didn't see the fist that hit Katsutoshi in the face. He certainly hadn't seen it coming, and was knocked back into the side of the limo. Kagome quite probably would have fallen to the ground, but Inuyasha grabbed her arm in time and pulled her back up, and pushed her behind him.

"Don't you touch her," Inuyasha growled, apparently forgetting that Katsutoshi couldn't hear him.

"What was that?" the auburn haired man asked.

"Inuyasha," Kagome told him.

Katsutoshi's eyes narrowed on Inuyasha. He couldn't see Inuyasha, Kagome was certain, but he seemed to know where he was despite that. "What was that for?"

"Kagome belongs to me; you can't touch her," Inuyasha snapped, still not remembering that Katsutoshi couldn't hear him.

Kagome's temper flared. "I do not belong to you!" she almost yelled at Inuyasha. She was no one's possession. Catching sight of the smirk on Katsutoshi's face and rounded on him. "Oh, don't you look smug! You deserved to get hit! Why, I ought to-"

"Be silent."

The voice wasn't loud, but it held enough command that Kagome shut up. It wasn't until that moment that Kagome realized that there was someone else waiting in the limo.

"All of you get inside, now."

Katsutoshi and the as yet unnamed man both obeyed immediately. "I know that voice," Inuyasha muttered. "Let's go, Kagome."

He took her hand and pulled her into the limo. He tugged her to the seats that sat across from where the three men already sat. After buckling in, Kagome looked up into the cold, unyielding eyes of Chikao Taisho.


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm riding around in a limo with four; no I can't forget the driver, so make that five yokai, one of whom is cursed, one of whom has flirted with me, and one of whom is arguably the richest and most powerful person in the whole world. Can my day get any weirder?_

Kagome warily eyed the three men sitting across from her and Inuyasha. They didn't look abnormal. Granted all three were uncommonly handsome, but if she'd just seen them on the street she'd never have picked them out for being anything other than human, unlike Inuyasha who was quite obviously not.

Chikao Taisho, or Sesshomaru as Inuyasha had once called him, seemed to be studying Kagome and Inuyasha both. But of course, he couldn't actually see Inuyasha. No one could, save Kagome.

Kagome, feeling impatient, decided to get the conversation rolling as it seemed no one else was going to. "Well?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you want?"

Sesshomaru's sharp eyes focused solely on Kagome, making the girl a bit nervous. "For one thing," he said slowly, "I'd like to know why Inuyasha is invisible."

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha. "Go on, tell him," Inuyasha said. "It's not like it isn't obvious."

Kagome turned back to Sesshomaru. "The curse was two fold apparently. I did free him from being stone, but no one can see or hear him, other than myself."

"And do you know how the rest of the curse is to be broken?" Sesshomaru asked.

Kagome didn't want to tell that part to these men. It wasn't simple embarrassment that held her back; it was the information that Kaede had given her as well. From what the woman had said, these men would think nothing of Inuyasha forcing her to be his wife. They might even encourage him to do so; and would Inuyasha cave into their pressure?

"I do not repeat myself, girl," Sesshomaru growled, apparently deciding that she was taking too long to answer.

Kagome's temper had yet to completely cool off. Sesshomaru's imperious tone only helped to raise the flame of her temper more. "And I don't respond well to rudeness, sir," she said, making sure that the last word was laced with sarcasm.

Katsutoshi and the other man both looked surprised. Sesshomaru didn't show any reaction to her words, but Inuyasha snickered loudly. At least someone found humor in the situation.

Keeping up her challenging stare, Kagome said, "To break the rest of the curse, Inuyasha and I must marry."

"That's it? Then why hasn't he already-"

The auburn haired man quit speaking when Kagome's frosty glare landed on him. "Because I told him no, and Inuyasha has enough morals not to force me."

"Er, why'd you tell him no?" he asked, perhaps wanting to get onto a slightly different subject.

"Do you even need to ask that, Shippo?" Katsutoshi asked. "No one would want to marry a half breed."

Kagome was surprised by Katsutoshi's words, and the derision in his voice. Granted she'd always known that Inuyasha was a hanyou, but she hadn't made in distinction in her mind between hanyou and yokai. Apparently there was a big distinction, and yokai didn't look upon hanyou favorably.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, and could see that Katsutoshi's words had upset him. His fists were clenched, and his body tense. But beneath the anger clearly displayed on his face, Kagome thought she saw hints of pain. She realized that the stigma of half breed was probably one he'd had to grow up with, and the insult could still cause him pain.

Kagome turned her gaze back to Katsutoshi. Kagome decided it would take much on Katsutoshi's part to gain her forgiveness for insulting Inuyasha this way. She was just starting to like Inuyasha, and she didn't care to see him hurt in any way.

"I don't care if he's a hanyou," Kagome said. "That has absolutely nothing to do with why I told him no."

Katsutoshi looked surprised.

"I told him no because I believe you should marry for love only, and I don't happen to be in love with Inuyasha. If I was in love with Inuyasha, I wouldn't have any qualms with marrying him at all."

A somewhat awkward silence filled the air, and Kagome turned her attentions back to Sesshomaru. "Was there anything else you needed?"

Sesshomaru nodded slightly. "I need to inform Inuyasha of the current state of affairs for yokai. Inuyasha, as I'm certain you already figured out, humans are not aware of the existence of yokai. All but a very few live on lands that I own, away from human civilization. As the rest of your curse cannot be broken without Miss Higurashi, I will allow you to continue living at her home; however, no one else is to know of your presence, or I will have the both of you removed to one of the reservations, forcibly if need be."

Kagome decided that now would not be a good time to mention she'd already told quite a few people about Inuyasha.

"And I will be checking up on you; I, Shippo, or Koga will come at least once a week to see what the situation is."

_Koga? I thought is name was Katsutoshi…_

Well, Sesshomaru used a fake name amongst humans. Quite probably they all had fake names.

"Is this understood?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Like I care about your stupid rules."

Kagome was really beginning to feel worn out, and didn't feel like getting stuck in the middle of a fight. For easiness sake, she said, "Inuyasha says yes."

Had Sesshomaru been less dignified, Kagome thought he would have rolled his eyes. Instead, he settled for dryly saying, "Doubtful."

The limo stopped moving and looking out the window Kagome saw that they were back at her house. They had only driven in a big circle.

"Good day, Miss Higurashi," Sesshomaru said, a clear dismissal.

Kagome wasn't the least bit unhappy to escape from that car. Eagerly she climbed out and the limo pulled away.

"No offense, Inuyasha," Kagome said as they walked up the stairs to her house. "But I really don't care for your brother."

"Oh yeah? Me neither."

* * *

Sesshomaru walked into the lobby of his hotel and made his way to the elevators that would take him to his floor. He had decided he'd rather not spend the night in the hotel that Shippo and Koga had chosen, and had found the nearest five star hotel to stay in.

Once he settled in his room he ordered room service for dinner. While waiting for it to arrive, Sesshomaru thought over the little meeting he'd had with Kagome and Inuyasha.

He had been surprised by the second part of the curse, though in reality Sesshomaru shouldn't have been. After all, the curse had been laid down by Naraku, and he had not been one to make things easy for his enemies. At least Sesshomaru had managed to destroy him after he'd cursed Inuyasha.

Still, all things considered, Sesshomaru had a feeling that this would work out well for Inuyasha. Sesshomaru had spent very little time with Kagome, but he was already convinced that she would be a good match for Inuyasha. That was assuming that Inuyasha didn't somehow ruin things for himself, of course.

Sesshomaru's reverie was broken by a knock on his door. It was a bellhop delivering his food. Sesshomaru tipped the man and quickly sent him away. Sitting at a table that was beside a large window giving him a good view of the outside Sesshomaru quietly ate his meal. It had been getting steadily darker due to a buildup of clouds. There was going to be a bad storm that night.

His mind slipped back to the little girl he'd met in the park earlier. She would not have very good shelter if it stormed. Though the boulders did meet at the top, it was doubtful that it was a perfect meeting. More than likely the little cave area she was staying in was going to be flooded, which would result in the girl getting sick, as humans were very frail creatures.

But why should Sesshomaru care? If she got sick it was her fault for running away from home. Why was Sesshomaru even thinking about her?

There was a rumble of thunder, and the rain started pouring down in sheets. The girl was about to spend a miserable night.

Sesshomaru finished his meal and found himself walking out of his room and to the elevators. It wasn't until he was actually starting his car that he realized was planning to go get the girl.

Sesshomaru gave a sigh of frustration. Why should he bother with this girl? Why not leave her on her own, as she had chosen to be?

He had no answer to these questions, but drove to the park anyways. Pulling into the parking lot, he turned off the car and got out. He hadn't thought to grab a coat or umbrella since rain had never bothered him, and so merely walked through the rain to the rocks in the center of the park.

He looked in the entrance the girl had crawled in that afternoon, and what Sesshomaru saw was basically what he had expected. The girl was huddled in a corner, trying in vain to keep dry and warm while puddles covered the ground. She looked positively miserable.

Sesshomaru was moved with something akin to pity. "Girl," he called.

Her head snapped up and she looked at him with disbelieving eyes.

"If you wish to get out of the rain, you may stay with me tonight," he offered dispassionately.

She stared at him in shock, and then a wide grin split her face. She quickly began crawling forward and Sesshomaru moved out of her way. When she got out she stood and looked up at him, that smile still dancing on her face.

Sesshomaru raised an eye brow. "I don't know why you're smiling. It's not like I really care about you."

The little girl's smile didn't falter for even a second. She just watched him, complete trust shining in her eyes.

Sesshomaru led the way back to his car and opened the door for her. She climbed in and he walked around to his side. Soon they were on the way back to his hotel. Noting that the girl was shivering, Sesshomaru turned on the heater for her. They finished the ride to the hotel in complete silence.

Sesshomaru led her up to his room, ignoring surprised and confused stares he got from the hotel staff. They wouldn't dare say anything.

Once in his room, Sesshomaru decided the best thing to do would be to get the girl dry. And clean, he decided, wrinkling his nose slightly. It had been far too long since she'd had a bath.

"You can take a shower in there," Sesshomaru told her, making sure she knew where the towels were, as well as pointing out a bathrobe she could wear when she was done.

Sesshomaru left her on her own then, and he soon heard the sound of running water. He took advantage of the time alone to change into his own set of dry clothes, and took the liberty of ordering a meal for the girl.

It was soon delivered, and not much later the girl came out of the bathroom, scrubbed clean and wrapped up in the bathrobe that was much too large for her.

"The food is for you," Sesshomaru told her.

She eagerly went to the table and started eating. Watching her, Sesshomaru asked, "Are you mute?"

She paused for a moment then shook her head no.

"Then it is polite to say thank you when someone gives you something."

She blushed, looking embarrassed. Keeping her eyes on the plate of food, she whispered, "Thank you."

"You are welcome," Sesshomaru said. In spite of himself, Sesshomaru was beginning to feel slightly curious about the girl. He wondered where she had come from, and why she had run away. When she was done eating, he decided to satisfy his curiosity.

"My name is Chikao Taisho. What is yours?"

"Rin," she said in the same quiet tone she had used earlier.

"Where are your parents Rin?" Sesshomaru asked.

Rin looked upset at the question. "Rin doesn't have parents anymore."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her use of third person. Someone ought to break her of that habit.

"Where were you staying then?" he asked.

"Rin was in a foster home. Rin did not like it there."

"Why do you whisper?" Sesshomaru asked.

Rin fidgeted in her seat. "Mr. Yamamoto didn't like Rin's voice."

From this statement Sesshomaru gathered the Yamamoto's did not run a happy foster home. He doubted they were physically abusive, social services would have checked on them too much for that, but it was quite probable that they had been emotionally abusive. Sesshomaru couldn't think of another reason for Rin to have been frightened into silence.

"Mr. Yamamoto was your foster father?" Sesshomaru asked.

Rin nodded silently.

"You don't have any other family you could stay with?" he questioned.

She looked sad again and shook her head no. "Rin has no family."

By this time she was beginning to look sleepy. So Sesshomaru said, "You may go to bed, Rin."

"Thank you, Mr. Taisho," she said, slipping out of her chair. She hesitated a moment. "Where is Rin going to sleep?"

"You may sleep in the bed," he told her.

Rin smiled at him and climbed into the large bed. Within moments she was asleep.

Sesshomaru watched her still form, wondering what he was supposed to do with the girl now. He didn't like the idea of turning her out on the streets, not after he'd gone out of his way to help her. He also disliked the idea of returning her to foster care if it had been so bad for her that she had run away.

Finally he sighed. He moved to the couch on the other side of the room where he would be sleeping that night. In the morning he would have to talk to child services.

It looked like he'd picked up another stray.


	9. Chapter 9

Kagome sank down on the couch in relief. They were finally done with the cleaning, and not a moment to soon. Aunt Hina and Uncle Ryou would soon be arriving.

Mrs. Higurashi had insisted that Wednesday and Thursday be spent cleaning the house in preparation for their guests. And the house couldn't just be clean; it had to be _company_ clean, which meant scrubbing everything till it shone. Or until Kagome collapsed in a heap, whichever came first.

She'd also taken the time to educate Inuyasha more on the current times. He now knew how to use the TV and the phone, and most of the kitchen appliances. He also knew how to use anything and everything they had that dealt with cleaning. Somehow or another, Mrs. Higurashi had roped him into doing housework with the rest of them.

As though her thoughts had summoned him, Inuyasha collapsed on the couch next to Kagome. "Your mom is a slave driver," he complained.

"Don't I know it," Kagome replied. "But at least you'll be able to rest now. I'm going to have to help entertain."

Inuyasha looked over at her. "You don't like your relatives?" he asked.

"No, I do like them," Kagome was quick to correct. "I don't see them often, so I like to spend what time I can with them. It's just I'm worn out right now, and I wish I could take a nap first."

Inuyasha looked like he was going to reply, but the sound of a car horn blaring in the driveway stopped him. "They're here! Get to Souta's room!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at her panic, but hopped up the stairs quickly. It had been decided that Inuyasha would spend the week in Souta's room in order to avoid their guests.

Kagome rushed to the front door just as her mother opened it to let them in.

"Nariko!" Aunt Hina cried, hugging Mrs. Higurashi. Aunt Hina was a tiny woman, slightly shorter than Kagome even. She kept her hair cut in a short bob, which made her look younger than she actually was.

Uncle Ryou followed after her, carrying several suitcases. It never ceased to amuse Kagome to see Uncle Ryou stand beside Aunt Hina, because he was as tall as she was short.

At the very end of the procession was Kikyo. It was sort of funny how many times she'd been mistaken for Kagome's twin sister rather than her cousin. Kikyo and Kagome were the same height, had the same build and facial structure, and both had long black hair and brown eyes.

Still, Kagome didn't see how people could mistake them for each other. Kikyo was always elegant and poised; Kagome was rather…well, frumpy. At least in Kagome's opinion, that is.

"Souta, Kagome, help them carry up their suitcases," Mrs. Higurashi ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Kagome and Souta chimed.

Souta took some suitcases from Uncle Ryou, and Kagome took one of the two Kikyo was holding. The four marched up the stairs and went to their different rooms to deposit the bags. Kagome led Kikyo to her room.

"So Kikyo," Kagome said setting the bag down. "How's college life treating you?"

Kikyo smiled. "It's going well. I can't wait for next year though; the first two years of college are just getting my basic classes out of the way. Next year I'll actually be able to start working in the more specialized classes."

"When do you get to intern at a hospital?" Kagome asked.

"Maybe at the end of my third year, if I do well enough," Kikyo said.

Kagome grinned as she plopped down on her bed. "Well, of course you'll do well enough! You're a genius."

Kikyo laughed as she sat in Kagome's desk chair. "Well, I don't know about genius. But what about you? Have you decided what you want to do?"

Kagome made a face. "Not really. I can't make up my mind. All I know for sure is I want to do something where I'm helping people."

"You could try being a doctor, like me," Kikyo suggested.

"I've thought about it," Kagome said. "But I don't know. I feel like there's something else I'm supposed to do. I just don't know what."

"You'll figure something out, Kagome," Kikyo said. "You always do."

"Thanks, Kikyo," Kagome said. "I'm glad to know someone has confidence in me."

"Girls! It's time for dinner!"

"We'd better head down, then, or your dad and Souta will eat everything," Kagome said, standing.

The two girls walked out of Kagome's room, but at the top of the steps Kikyo paused and glanced over at Souta's room.

"What is it?" Kagome asked, managing to keep nervousness out of her voice.

"I thought I heard something," Kikyo said.

Kagome linked her arm through Kikyo's and tugged her down the stairs. "If it's in Souta's room, you don't want to know. A few weeks ago, Mom had to go in there for something, and she found out that Souta had been collecting tarantulas without telling us."

Kikyo shuddered in disgust, and Kagome applauded herself on the story. Kikyo hated spiders; she was terrified of them even. She'd probably avoid Souta's room like the plague now.

"Souta did get rid of them, didn't he?" she asked hesitantly.

"Mom told him to, but with Souta, who knows," Kagome said.

Kikyo paled slightly, and Kagome felt a sense of triumph. Keeping Inuyasha a secret was going to work.

* * *

Inuyasha lay on Souta's bed, for lack of anything better to do. They had figured out how to keep him hidden from their relatives, had even gone so far as to stock the room with food that didn't need to be refrigerated or cooked, but no one had thought about giving him something to do to amuse himself while he was stuck in this one room.

So, with nothing to keep him busy, all he could do was think. And, when given the time to think, all he could think about was Kagome, and what she had told Sesshomaru and his lackeys.

Never before in his life had Inuyasha met someone who didn't care that he was a half breed, as it was so commonly put.

Granted his parents probably wouldn't have cared, but Inuyasha hadn't met either of them, at least, not that he could remember. His mother had died only a few short weeks after Inuyasha's birth due to illness. Lord Inutaisho, Inuyasha's father, hadn't been able to bring her back to life with the Tenseiga, for it could only bring back those who had died a violent death.

A few months later their lands had been attacked by Ryukotsusei. Inutaisho had fought and killed him; however, he'd still been so drowned in grief over his wife's death that he hadn't fought with enough strength to survive himself. So though he killed Ryukotsusei, he died as well.

The end result had been that Inuyasha was raised by Sesshomaru, one of the many that despised hanyou. That had led to more nightmares in Inuyasha's childhood than he cared to recall.

So after growing up in an environment that told Inuyasha he was worthless because of his blood, to hear Kagome say she didn't care was shocking, to say the least. What was even more shocking was that she really meant it.

But when Inuyasha really stopped to think, it wasn't just Kagome that had accepted him, half breed and all. It hadn't bothered anyone that Kagome had introduced to him. Miroku, Sango, Kagome's family; none of them seemed to understand that hanyou were looked down upon. Why was that?

Finally Inuyasha had to chalk it up to ignorance. If they knew about yokai, they would understand. Perhaps one day Kagome would even change her opinion of Inuyasha.

_But she won't,_ Inuyasha thought,_ if I can make her fall in love with me._

Kagome had quite plainly said that if she fell in love with Inuyasha, she'd marry him. All he had to do was win her heart.

_But I don't know how. I need help._

Inuyasha hated to ask for help, but there was no way he was going to succeed in this on his own. He was also very limited in who he could ask for assistance.

The door opened, and Souta walked in. He quickly shut the door and looked around the room. "Inuyasha?" he whispered.

Inuyasha stared at him. What the heck. He was desperate.

Inuyasha got Souta's attention by throwing the pillow at him. Souta caught it and grinned at the bed. "Oh, there you are. Have you been okay in here?"

Inuyasha picked up a pad of paper and a pencil from Souta's dresser. He'd been using it to communicate with Kagome's family when she wasn't around.

_'Fine. I need a favor.'_

Souta read what Inuyasha wrote. "What favor do you need?"

_'How can I make Kagome fall in love with me?'_

Souta stared at the words, and then looked up at Inuyasha. Well, he was actually looking a little to the left of Inuyasha, but Inuyasha knew what he was trying to do.

"Inuyasha," he said very seriously. "Are you in love with Kagome?"

Well, no, he wasn't in love with her exactly, though he certainly liked her. And he did think she was pretty. But it might be easier to get Souta's help if he thought Inuyasha was in love with Kagome.

_'Yes.'_

Souta ginned. "That's so cool! If you and Kagome get married, that would make us brothers!"

Well, at least Inuyasha had Souta on his side.

_'So, can you help me?'_

Souta nodded. "I will do all I can to help. Have a seat," he said, pointing to the bed. Inuyasha obeyed, and Souta stood imperiously in front of him.

"Now then, girls are really confusing creatures, but they all have certain things in common. They like gifts for one; you can't go wrong with flowers, chocolate, or jewelry. And they love you to complement them. You have to complement them all the time. They also like really romantic dates."

Inuyasha frowned. He didn't know that word.

_'What's a date?_'

"A date is when a guy and girl go out somewhere by themselves. They usually go to dinner, or the movies or something like that."

That required going out in public, something Inuyasha couldn't do right now. He also had no way of getting her a gift at the moment, unless he wanted to become a thief.

_'I can't take her on a date, or get her any gifts.'_

Souta looked surprised, and then thoughtful. "Oh yeah, I guess you can't. That makes things harder." Souta paced for a minute, and then snapped his fingers. "I know! You can write her poetry!"

_'Poetry?'_

Souta nodded, grinning like a maniac. "That's right, poetry! Girls love poetry! Especially love poems."

_'I don't know how to write poetry.'_

"Oh that's easy," Souta said breezily. "All you have to do is write about how pretty you think she is or something, and make sure it rhymes."

_'And Kagome likes poems?'_

Souta nodded. "Sure she does. All girls like poetry."

_'I guess I can try.'_

Souta patted Inuyasha's arm, though Inuyasha had a feeling he'd been going for his shoulder. "That's the spirit. Now I've got to go to bed, or Mom will get on to me for staying up to late. Goodnight, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha moved off of Souta's bed and sat on the floor with his paper and pencil. He didn't feel tired yet, and if he was going to write a poem for Kagome, he had a feeling that he'd need all the time he could get.

* * *

Kagome unrolled her sleeping bag on her bedroom floor, as she was giving her bed to Kikyo. "Hey, Kikyo, will you toss me one of the pillows, please?"

Kikyo gave her one of the pillows off of the bed. "There you go, Kagome. You know, I can remember a time when we'd both easily fit on your bed."

Kagome grinned. "I remember those days too. But even though we both fit on the bed, I would keep waking up on the floor for some reason."

Both girls laughed, and then Kagome caught sight of a locket that she hadn't noticed before. "Hey, Kikyo, where did you get that necklace? It's really pretty."

Kikyo's hand flew to her throat, and she blushed. "It was a gift," she said vaguely.

Kagome ginned. "Oh, a gift? From who, may I ask?"

Kikyo sighed good naturedly. "I suppose I might as well tell you. You won't leave me alone until I do."

"Nope," Kagome cheerfully agreed.

Kikyo lay back in the bed. "His name is Onigumo. I met him a year ago now."

"Is he a college student?" Kagome asked.

Kikyo shook her head. "No, he isn't. He lives near the campus though."

"How old is he?" Kagome asked.

"Not that old. He's only twenty-six, and I'm twenty."

"What does he look like?" Kagome asked.

Kikyo took the locket off and handed it to Kagome. "His picture is in there."

Kagome opened it and curiously studied the picture she saw. The man was handsome, Kagome decided, with long curly black hair, deep brown eyes, and an aristocratic face. Still, something seemed a little off. Kagome couldn't quit put her finger on it, but something about this guy seemed wrong, almost sinister.

_I'm being silly. It's just a picture after all. I can't judge someone I've never met. I'm sure Onigumo is a perfectly nice guy._

Kagome handed the locket back to Kikyo. "He's handsome," Kagome said.

Kikyo smiled dreamily as she put the locket back on. "Yes, he is. And he's got more than just looks. He has a brilliant mind."

Kagome yawned sleepily. "Well, I'm glad you're happy, Kikyo. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Kagome."

* * *

Kikyo toyed with the locket while she listened as Kagome's breath settled into the deep pattern of sleep. She wished she could tell Kagome everything about her relationship with Onigumo. There were things about him she hadn't even told her parents.

_I might have to tell her yet,_ Kikyo thought, remembering the presence she had sensed earlier.

Unlike the majority of the world's population, Kikyo was well aware of the existence of yokai. She'd found out not long after she'd started college. She'd been out late one night by herself when she'd been attacked by one of the vile creatures. Quite possibly she would have died that night, but Onigumo had been there.

Onigumo had rescued her, using powers that she wouldn't have thought any human would have. That had been the beginning of their relationship.

As it had turned out, Onigumo was the leader of a small group of humans who were dedicated to eradicating the threat of yokai; they called themselves the Society of Light. Each member had powers that allowed them to fight these monsters. Onigumo helped Kikyo discover her own special abilities. Once her powers were known, Kikyo had wasted no time in joining the Society of Light herself.

_And now to find that a filthy yokai has taken up residence with my own family._

Kikyo felt anger burn inside her at the mere thought of the harm that the yokai was no doubt planning. Kikyo refused to allow anything to happen to her family. She would protect them. Before the week was out, that yokai would be destroyed, whatever it may take.


	10. Chapter 10

Kagome woke up early again, much to her dismay. She'd wanted to sleep in, but before she'd gone up to her bedroom last night, her mom had requested her help with breakfast in the morning.

Kagome quietly gathered her clothes and slipped out of her bedroom, careful not to wake Kikyo. Then she went to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

_I wonder what we'll wind up doing today. I'd like to do more than just sit around and reminisce today._

Perhaps she could convince Kikyo to go to the mall with her. That would be fun.

Kagome finished getting ready and left the bathroom. She could hear the stirrings of other people waking up, and hurriedly deposited her pajamas back in her bedroom. When she went back out in the hall, she saw Souta peaking out of his bedroom.

"Kagome!" he stage whispered. He came out of his room and handed her a folded piece of paper. "This is for you from, um, you know. Don't let anyone else see it."

"Okay," Kagome said, slipping it in her pocket. "I'll read it later. I've got to get downstairs and help Mom with breakfast."

Kagome went down the stairs and to the kitchen, where Mrs. Higurashi immediately set her to work. As she helped make breakfast, Kagome couldn't help but wonder what was on the note that Inuyasha had written for her. She couldn't think of any reason for him to be writing her notes.

_I guess I'll just have to wait until I get a moment alone to read it to find out what he wrote._

It wasn't long before the rest of the household came down for breakfast, and soon Kagome had nearly forgotten about the slip of paper in her pocket.

"So, what are everyone's plans for the day?" Uncle Ryou asked when they were nearly done eating.

"I was thinking it might be fun for Kikyo and me to go to the mall," Kagome said.

Kikyo smiled. "That sounds like a good idea."

"I wanted to go to Kohaku's house," Souta said. "Can I Mom?"

"Oh, I suppose," Mrs. Higurashi said. "But you have to be home by lunch, okay?"

Souta nodded. "Okay."

"Kikyo, Kagome, do you two mind dropping Souta off at Kohaku's house on your way to the mall?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"Not a problem," Kagome said. "We'll leave as soon as we get ready."

"Done eating!" Souta said and jumped up from his chair. He rushed out of the room so he could get ready to go.

Kikyo and Kagome put their empty plates in the sink before heading up to Kagome's room to get their shoes and purses. While there Kikyo also grabbed her hair brush.

"I need to finish fixing my hair," she said. "I'll be ready in five minutes."

"Take your time," Kagome said.

When Kikyo left the room, Kagome pulled the note from Inuyasha out of her pocket. Curiosity eating at her, she quickly opened it and read the contents.

"Your hair is very black,

And it falls down your back.

Spirit you don't lack,

Your hand is all I ask."

It took Kagome several moments to realize that this was Inuyasha's attempt at a love poem. It was possibly one of the saddest attempts at a love poem she had ever seen, and Kagome didn't know whether to laugh at the absurdity of the poem, or be touched that he had tried to write her a poem at all. The only truly coherent thought she could form was, _Why the modern rhyme scheme? Shouldn't Inuyasha be writing haiku? _She decided Souta must have had a hand in that.

Kagome decided to be both amused and touched and let a few giggles escape. She couldn't laugh too much though, or Kikyo might hear her and want to know what was so funny. Kagome refolded the poem and hid it in her sock drawer.

On impulse, Kagome decided she would respond with a poem of her own. She didn't know when she would find the time to do it, but she'd try to do it soon.

Kikyo came back from the bathroom, her hair in perfect order. "Ready to go, Kagome?"

Kagome grinned. "Yup. Let's get Souta and go."

* * *

Not much later, Kagome pulled the family car into Kohaku's driveway. While Souta was getting out, Kagome called, "Tell Sango I said hi!"

"Sure thing!" Souta called back, and then raced up to their front door.

Kagome pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street.

"Souta goes over to Kohaku's house so much, it's a wonder he doesn't move in there," Kagome said.

Kikyo smiled. "I seem to recall those two were always good friends."

Kagome nodded. "Oh yeah. They've practically grown up together, since Sango and I were always so close."

"How is Sango doing?" Kikyo asked. Though she may not have liked Miroku, she did like Sango.

"She's doing fine. Do you know she's playing softball this year, and keeping her karate classes?"

"Really?" Kikyo said. "That must keep her busy."

Kagome nodded. "It really does. She had a break from softball last week though; their coach was sick. And she only has karate classes three times a week; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays."

"What belt is she?" Kikyo asked.

"A black belt," Kagome said. "I feel sorry for anyone who tries to mess with her."

"I would too," Kikyo said. There were a few moments of silence. "So, Kagome, has anything interesting happened lately?"

A wave of nervousness inexplicably washed through Kagome at the seemingly innocent question. Kikyo couldn't have any idea that Inuyasha was staying with them. There was no reason to be worried.

"No, not really. Just the same old, same old."

They pulled into the mall parking lot. "Okay, we're here!" She turned to Kikyo with sparkling eyes. "Which store do you want to look at first?"

* * *

Kikyo felt somewhat frustrated on the way home from the mall. She had hoped that Kagome would know something about the yokai, but all of Kikyo's subtle tactics to bring out information had met with a brick wall.

Granted, Kikyo hadn't expected Kagome to know that a yokai had taken up residence in her home. However, she had hoped that Kagome might have spotted some odd goings on that might give Kikyo a better idea of what she was dealing with. She didn't like walking into this situation blind.

Still, she had to do something, preferably sooner than later. She didn't want to give the yokai a chance to harm anyone.

They stopped to pick up Souta and headed home. When they went inside, Aunt Nariko called immediately for Kagome's help in the kitchen, so Kikyo volunteered to take their shopping bags up to Kagome's room.

After putting the bags away, Kikyo hesitated. Everyone was downstairs, and they weren't likely to come up for any reason. Now might be one of the best chances she'd get to try and discover exactly what she was dealing with.

* * *

Inuyasha paced in Souta's room. Why had he given Kagome that stupid poem? He knew it wasn't a good one. It was horrible one, but sadly it had been the best he'd been able to come up with all night, and Souta had insisted they give it to her.

Now he was waiting and worrying, hoping that Kagome didn't think he was a complete idiot.

The door to Souta's room opened, and Inuyasha stopped pacing to see who was coming in. It was a young woman, presumably Kagome's cousin. Inuyasha was surprised to see how much she resembled Kagome.

Inuyasha barely had a moment to wonder why she'd come when the room filled with a surge of spiritual energy.

Inuyasha gasped and instinctively stepped back. This woman was strong, easily one of the most powerful priestesses he'd ever encountered. The energy crackled in the room, stinging Inuyasha.

Her eyes searched the room, trying to find him. "Where are you, yokai?" she asked. "I know you're here; show yourself!"

Even if Inuyasha could have revealed himself to her, he wouldn't have dared. If it came down to a fight, Inuyasha was fairly certain he'd be able to kill her, but she was Kagome's cousin. If Inuyasha killed her, Kagome would never forgive him. His only option was to stay still and silent, and hope she didn't figure out where he was.

* * *

Kagome froze over the vegetables she'd been chopping for Mrs. Higurashi. Something was wrong. She didn't know what, she didn't know how she knew, but something big was going on.

Kagome dropped the knife on the cutting board and left the kitchen, ignoring her mom's questions. "I'll be right back," she said, to dissuade anyone from following her.

Quickly moving up the stairs, Kagome saw a strange glow coming from the cracked open door of Souta's room. Kagome rushed to the door and opened it, and was shocked to see Kikyo standing in there; she was even more shocked to see that the strange glow was coming from her.

Inuyasha was standing a few feet away, his jaw clenched in pain. "Kagome, make her stop."

"Kikyo?"

The glow vanished and Kikyo whirled around to face Kagome. "Kagome," she said, looking surprised.

"What are you doing in here?" Kagome asked.

Kikyo looked indecisive for a moment, then pulled Kagome in and shut the door behind her. "I need you to listen to me," Kikyo hissed. "What I'm going to say sounds strange, but you must believe me. Yokai are real, and very dangerous. One is here, I think in this room. I must destroy it before it hurts anyone. Now I need you to go downstairs, and stay away from here until I tell you its safe."

Kagome stared at Kikyo in shock. All she could say was, "How did you find out?"

Kikyo stepped back, looking as stunned as Kagome felt.

"She's a priestess, Kagome," Inuyasha said. "She can sense my presence the way Kaede can. But she's not as well trained, so she can't figure out exactly where I am."

"You," Kikyo started, "you knew a yokai was living here?"

"It's a long story," Kagome said. "But you don't need to worry about him. Inuyasha isn't evil."

Kikyo was beginning to get over her surprise. "You're wrong, Kagome. All yokai are evil. There are no exceptions."

Kagome was surprised at the hardness in Kikyo's voice. How had she come to believe this? For that matter, how had she become aware of the existence of yokai at all? "They aren't all evil," Kagome said. "At the very least, I can promise you Inuyasha is not. He isn't a danger to anyone."

"He is," Kikyo insisted. "He has bewitched you somehow if you think otherwise."

Kagome temper lit at Kikyo's stubborn words. Who was she to judge? Kikyo didn't even know Inuyasha. Just because he wasn't completely human didn't mean he was evil.

"If he's so evil, then why hasn't he attacked you while you've been distracted?" Kagome snapped.

Kikyo looked startled, apparently not having thought about the fact that she had left herself vulnerable to an attack while talking to Kagome.

Kagome continued on. "Now, Souta knows about Inuyasha, as he's staying in Souta's room and all, but Mom and Grandpa don't know, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

That was a lie, but Kagome didn't want Kikyo bringing this topic up in front of them, and trying to convince everyone that Inuyasha was evil. Plus, it would be best if Uncle Ryou and Aunt Hina never heard of this.

"So we're just going to drop the subject, and you're going to pretend Inuyasha isn't here," Kagome finished.

Kikyo stared at her, eyes hard. "Very well," she finally said. "Have it your way. But know this Kagome. Whatever that monster does, it will be your fault. Whomever he hurts, the guilt will be yours."

Kagome didn't know what came over her, but something inside snapped when she heard Kikyo call Inuyasha a monster. Almost bursting with anger, Kagome stepped forward and slapped Kikyo. She didn't hit her hard, probably it didn't really even hurt Kikyo, but it was enough to shut her up.

"Don't you ever, ever call him that," Kagome hissed. "Inuyasha is absolutely not a monster, and he would never hurt us."

Kikyo didn't respond, but glared stonily before stalking out of the room.

Kagome stood where she was for a moment, feeling overwhelmed. She couldn't believe what she'd done and said. She had slapped Kikyo! It didn't matter that it hadn't been a hard hit, it didn't matter that it was the first time Kagome had ever hit anyone. Kagome had hit her, and that was inexcusable.

_But what she said was inexcusable too._

Tears of shame and frustration welled up in her eyes, and a few escaped to roll down her cheeks. What was she to do? Would Kikyo ever forgive her? Would she ever forgive Kikyo?

More tears slipped down her face. She didn't know. She didn't know the answer to anything.

* * *

Inuyasha watched with mounting distress as Kagome stood there and cried. He had to make her stop. He had to do something. But what was he supposed to do? He didn't know how to deal with tears.

Inuyasha thought back, trying to remember how situations like this had been dealt with in his past. The problem was he couldn't remember situations like this in his past.

Hesitantly, Inuyasha moved towards her. He reached out and gently tapped her cheek with the tips of his fingers. "Hey," he said gruffly. "Stop crying."

To his surprise, Kagome latched onto him in a tight hug. "I hit her!" she cried. "How could I have hit her?"

That was what was bothering her? Inuyasha couldn't count the number of times that he'd attacked Sesshomaru, or Sesshomaru had attacked him. But seeing as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru disliked one another, he decided that wasn't the best example to give Kagome right now.

Inuyasha hugged her, since she seemed to find some comfort in the gesture. "She'll get over it," Inuyasha said.

Kagome looked up at him, teary eyed. "But that's the thing. I'm not sure she will. Kikyo can't forgive easily."

"Then your just going to have to deal with it, and move on," Inuyasha said.

Kagome frowned in distress. "It's not that simple, Inuyasha!" She buried her face in his chest with a groan. "You don't understand."  
Inuyasha looked down at the top of her head uncertainly. He had to do something that would make her feel better. But what could he do?

"I guess I don't understand," he said. "But, I'd like to say that I am grateful."

She slowly looked back up at him, her brows creased in confusion. "Grateful?"

Inuyasha fidgeted slightly. He didn't like talking about this stuff, but if it would make Kagome stop crying, he'd say anything. "No one's ever stood up for me before. Thanks."

Kagome stared at him, and understanding flowed through her eyes, along with warmth that Inuyasha couldn't name. Gently she reached up and placed one of her hands on his face. "You're my friend, Inuyasha. I will always defend you."

She stood on tiptoe and pressed a quick kiss against his cheek. Then she quickly backed away, blushing. "I'd better get downstairs before Mom comes looking for me."

She dashed off, and Inuyasha stood where she's left him, dumbly staring after her. A grin broke out on his face where she'd kissed him. This day was turning out to be better than he'd expected.

* * *

Kikyo paced outside in the cool fall air. Gingerly she touched her cheek again. She couldn't believe it. Kagome had actually slapped her. Sweet, innocent Kagome had actually raised her hand against Kikyo. It was all the proof Kikyo needed to let her know that this Inuyasha was somehow controlling her.

Kikyo pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She quickly dialed a number and waited for the phone to be answered. She was going to need help to destroy Inuyasha.

"Hello?"

Kikyo felt an instant, soothing, relief at the sound of Onigumo's voice. "Onigumo, I need your help," she said.

"What's wrong?" he asked all concern.

"A yokai has taken up residence in my family's home. I tried to drive him out earlier, but I was stopped by my cousin, Kagome. I believe that Inuyasha is controlling her."

"Who?" asked Onigumo sharply.

Kikyo was somewhat surprised by his tone. He'd never used it when speaking to her before. "Inuyasha. That's what Kagome called the yokai."

"Kikyo, in my studies I have read about a half breed that was named Inuyasha. If this is the same one, and I think it may be, Kagome is in grave danger. Tell me; were you ever able to see him?"

"No, never. It was as if he was invisible."

"Good," Onigumo said, sounding relieved. "Then there is still time to save your cousin. You see, Kikyo, hundreds of years ago, Inuyasha was cursed into being stone. Someone has freed him from that, but there was another part to the curse, that would make Inuyasha invisible, and mostly harmless even if he managed to get free of the first part."

"Is there a way for him to get loose from the second part of the curse?" Kikyo asked, concerned.

"Unfortunately yes, and it seems he has targeted Kagome to get rid of the second part. He must take her as his bride, and then devour her heart."

Kikyo gasped, horrified. There was no way she could leave Kagome to such a fate. She would save her, one way or another.

"Please, Onigumo, you must come," Kikyo begged. "I need your help to save her."

"I will get there tomorrow," Onigumo promised. "We'll save Kagome, don't you worry."

Kikyo accepted what he said, because she refused to believe that Kagome would suffer such a horrible fate. "Thank you, Onigumo," Kikyo said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Onigumo told her, and then hung up.

Kikyo put her cell phone away and looked back at the house, which was filled with precious people that she loved. She would keep them all safe, no matter what the cost.

_I will protect you, Kagome. I promise._


	11. Chapter 11

Kagome tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. Things had been tense between Kikyo and Kagome that evening, and Kagome was fairly certain everyone had noticed.

_It's no good. I'm not going to go to sleep._

Kagome sat up in her sleeping bag, carefully so as to make sure Kikyo wouldn't wake up. She stood, and grabbing a pen and a note book, Kagome slipped out of her room and went to the bathroom so she wouldn't disturb anyone.

"If I can't sleep, I might as well get to work on the poem I said I'd give Inuyasha," Kagome mused.

Settling down on the floor, Kagome thought about what she should write. A smile lit up her face as she got an idea.

_Inuyasha is from the past and wrote me a modern poem, so I'm going to write him a haiku._

Kagome got to work, and after several discarded poems, she finally came up with one that pleased her. Leaning back against the wall, she surveyed her work.

"He chases the girl,

Will he endure to catch her?

She may not relent."

Perhaps it wasn't an award winning haiku, but Kagome felt it got the message across nicely enough.

_But why am I encouraging him?_

Kagome wasn't certain. She had told him in no uncertain terms that she would not marry him.

_Of course, I also said I would marry him if I was in love with him._ Kagome blushed at the memory. Did she want to fall in love with Inuyasha? What would marriage to him entail?

Granted, Kagome liked Inuyasha. As she had said earlier, she did consider him a friend. Was there potential for them to be more?

But Sesshomaru had said that the majority of yokai lived on reservations. More than likely, once Inuyasha was free, that's where he was going. Kagome didn't like the idea of being forced to live in one place.

_I don't understand why yokai can't just live out in the open with the rest of us._

Kagome decided to ignore these thoughts for now. She had other more pressing problems at hand.

Kagome folded up the poem and neatly wrote Inuyasha's name on top of the paper. She left the bathroom and walked to Souta's bedroom door. Stooping down, she slid the paper under the door and then walked back to own bedroom.

Kagome curled up in the sleeping bag. She felt a lot more tired now, and soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Late Sunday morning, Kagome was helping Mrs. Higurashi clean up the kitchen after breakfast.

"Kagome, will you please take the trash out?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Kagome said. She tied the bag shut and carried it out to the back of the house where the trashcan was.

"Good morning."

Kagome jumped with a yelp of surprise, nearly dropping the trashcan lid. "Don't sneak up on me!" she said to Shippo, who was standing a few feet away looking sheepish.

"Sorry. I've been hanging out around here most of the morning waiting for a chance to talk to you. Mr. Taisho wanted to know how things are going."

Kagome tucked a few wayward strands of hair behind one ear. "Busy and crowded."

Shippo eyed her. "You haven't told any of your company about Inuyasha, have you?"

Kagome was relieved at the way he'd worded his question. She could honestly answer it, because she hadn't told Kikyo about him. Kikyo had found out herself. "No, I haven't. And he's been sure to keep out of the way."

That last statement was also true. Kikyo had had to go out of her way to find Inuyasha.

Shippo nodded. "Good. How much longer are you going to have company?"

"Until Friday," Kagome said.

"Right then. I'll be seeing you around, Kagome."

"Bye, Shippo."

Shippo left and Kagome headed back to the house. Mrs. Higurashi was sure to be wondering what had taken her so long.

* * *

Kikyo quickly walked away from the back door when she saw Kagome was about to come in. Her mind was whirling with what she had overheard.

Kikyo had followed Kagome intending to apologize for what she had said about Inuyasha. It wasn't that Kikyo was really sorry, but she worried that Kagome wouldn't confide in her if tension still existed between them.

It was obvious now that Inuyasha wasn't the only yokai that Kagome had gotten involved with. Kagome had gotten herself into some deep trouble, somehow.

Kikyo's mind also revolved around the name that that yokai, Shippo, had let slip. Taisho. It was so clear to her now.

Chikao Taisho was the richest man in the world, and owned more property than any other one person. He was the perfect person to be hiding yokai; why, he might even be a yokai himself. Probably there were a lot of them hidden away on his reservations. He might have entire armies stationed at each place, just waiting for his signal so they could attack humans.

_I have to tell Onigumo about this._

The Society of Light had been trying for years to find out where the yokai were hidden. It had never occurred to any of them that a very public figure might be hiding them.

Kikyo waited impatiently for Onigumo to call her and let her know that he was in town. Finally, her cell phone rang. Kikyo excused herself from the group to answer her phone.

"I'm outside waiting," Onigumo's voice said when she answered.

"I'll be right out," Kikyo replied.

Kikyo hung up her phone and went back to where the family group was. "Mom, Dad, Onigumo's in town for the day. We're going to go out to lunch."

Hina frowned. "Kikyo, can't you wait to go to lunch with him after you go back to college? This is supposed to be family time."

"But Mom, he's only here today," Kikyo said.

"You should at least take Kagome with you if you're going to leave us," Ryou said.

_No, Kagome can't come! Onigumo and I won't be able to talk if she's there!_

Surprisingly, Kagome herself came to Kikyo's rescue. "Oh, no, I wouldn't want to intrude. Let Kikyo go with him."

Kikyo sent Kagome a grateful smile, which she returned. Had Kagome forgiven her already? That would be like Kagome.

"Fine, but don't be gone to long," Hina said.

Kikyo quickly left the house and almost dashed out to Onigumo's car. She slipped inside and smiled up at him. "Thank you so much for helping me with this, Onigumo."

Onigumo smiled back at her. "Of course I'm going to help, Kikyo. It is my mission in life to keep people safe from these vile creatures."

He reached over and gently touched Kikyo's face. "And I most certainly want to keep those close to you safe."

Kikyo flushed with pleasure at his touch, and her heart swelled. She loved this man so much. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

Onigumo drove to a small diner. "Let's talk over lunch," he said. "I'm sure you're hungry."

They got out of the car and walked into the diner, hand in hand. Kikyo was content. Soon everything would be right again, all thanks to Onigumo.

* * *

Miroku glanced up from his laptop when the bell above the diner door jingled, and was shocked to see Kikyo walk in with some guy. Miroku immediately slouched down in his booth and shifted the laptop so she couldn't see his face. The last thing he wanted right now was a confrontation with the Ice Queen.

_Drat it all. I came here so I could work on my paper without any distractions._

Miroku scowled at his computer screen, and his scowl deepened when he heard the couple sit down in the booth behind him.

_At least the seat backs are tall enough that they can't see me._

Miroku was contemplating his chances of slipping out without being noticed when Kikyo said something that caught his attention completely.

"I'm so glad you came to help. I found out this morning that Kagome's even deeper in this mess than I originally thought."

Miroku frowned. What kind of mess was Kagome in? And why did Kikyo feel like she needed outside help with it?

"Tell me what happened," the man said, his oily voice raising the hair of the back of Miroku's neck. That man was trouble, he just knew it.

"Inuyasha isn't the only yokai Kagome's involved with."

Miroku almost choked. Kikyo knew about Inuyasha? Surely Kagome wouldn't have told her as well. Wait; when had Kagome met _other _yokai?

"I saw her in the backyard this morning; speaking to a man she called Shippo. He was disguised, but he was definitely a yokai. While they were talking, he mentioned one Mr. Taisho."

Kikyo paused, apparently to let her companion absorb the news.

"Chikao Taisho?" the man asked.

Miroku wasn't surprised about that name. After all, Inuyasha had revealed that Chikao Taisho was actually his brother.

"I think Taisho is the one hiding the yokai," Kikyo said, excitement lacing her voice. "Which means we know where all of them are; they're on the reservations that Taisho owns. The Society of Light can destroy them, finally!"

"Yes," the man said. "However, we still need to move cautiously. I have gotten some new intelligence from a prisoner we caught while you've been gone."

"What?" Kikyo asked.

"Apparently, the yokai are in possession of a powerful weapon; it is called the Shikon Jewel. This jewel has the potential to be used for great good or great evil. If we could get a hold of that jewel, then we could destroy the yokai in one blow."

"Where is it kept?" Kikyo asked.

"According to the prisoner, their leader, Sesshomaru, keeps it on his person at all times to prevent others from stealing it. With what you've just found out, I'm willing to bet that Chikao Taisho is Sesshomaru in disguise."

"So all we have to do is target him," Kikyo mused. "But what are we going to do about Inuyasha in the meantime? We can't let him kill Kagome."

"We will think of something," the man said.

Miroku tried to absorb all he had heard. Apparently Kikyo was a part of some radical group that wanted to wipe yokai out of existence. She knew about Sesshomaru, and was planning to kill Inuyasha because she was convinced that Inuyasha was planning to kill Kagome.

_I have to warn Kagome. Kikyo has to be stopped somehow._

Miroku didn't even for a moment consider the fact that Kikyo might be right. Kagome was generally a good judge of character, and if she didn't think she was in danger, then she probably wasn't.

Miroku continued listening as they talked, but their conversation was mostly about trivial things at this point. He did learn that the man's name was Onigumo though. Finally, Onigumo said something interesting again.

"Kikyo, I do have something with me that might allow you to destroy Inuyasha," he said. "But I hesitate to give it to you because it's dangerous."

"I'll do anything, if it will save Kagome," Kikyo said.

"Very well. Let's go back to the car and I'll give it to you," Onigumo said.

Miroku waited until he was sure the couple was gone, and then paid his bill and left. He would go to Kagome's house now and speak with her. This news couldn't wait.

Soon he arrived at the Higurashi shrine and he pulled into the drive. He walked quickly to the door and knocked on it.

Kagome opened the door wide. "Miroku! What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," Miroku said. "Now."

Kagome looked confused and concerned. "Okay." She stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

Miroku took Kagome's hand and started walking along the grounds, leading her away from the house. Quickly, he told her about all he had heard at the dinner.

Kagome looked horrified. "Oh no, this is awful! I can't let them hurt Inuyasha!"

"I agree," Miroku said. "But I wonder if you could tell me when you met with the other yokai?"

Kagome related her meeting with Sesshomaru and the others quickly. Miroku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps the best thing to do would be to warn Sesshomaru. I'm sure he could handle this 'Society of Light'."

"No," Kagome answered, surprisingly quick. "We can't tell him anything."

"Why not?" Miroku asked, confused by her resistance.

"If Sesshomaru finds out that anyone else knows about Inuyasha he's going to ship the two of us off to one of his reservations," Kagome said. "He already told us he would do that. I can't leave my family forever and while I consider Inuyasha my friend, I don't want to marry him and get stuck in the middle of nowhere for the rest of my life."

Miroku sighed with frustration. "But, Kagome, this isn't about just your life! They're planning to kill Sesshomaru, and every other yokai for that matter!"

Kagome's face paled. "You're right. I can't be selfish. I'll warn Sesshomaru." She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Miroku, will you do me a favor?"

"Anything I can do to help," Miroku promised.

"Will you let Inuyasha stay with you? If he's with you, Kikyo won't be able to hurt him with whatever weapon that Onigumo is giving her."

Miroku nodded. "Sure thing. If you can get him to agree, he can stay with me."

Kagome smiled at him thankfully. "I owe you, Miroku."

"I'll add it to your tab," Miroku said dryly. "Now go get Inuyasha."


	12. Chapter 12

Sesshomaru was somewhat irritated when his secretary, Sara Hime, knocked on his office door. He had already gotten to work late that morning because he'd decided not to leave for work before Rin woke up, so he had given his secretary explicit orders not to disturb him.

"Come in," he finally said when it was apparent that the woman wasn't going away.

She opened the door and stepped inside, looking both nervous and apologetic. Not surprising considering the numerous times she'd been subjected to his temper. With her nervous tendencies, Sesshomaru was somewhat surprised she hadn't quit yet.

"There is a woman on the phone insisting she needs to speak with you," Sara said softly.

"Take a message," Sesshomaru said, irritated that he'd been interrupted for something like this.

"I tried," Sara said, "but she refuses to leave one. She said she must speak with you."

"Hang up on her," Sesshomaru ordered. If it was important, she'd call back some other time. Besides, Sesshomaru couldn't think of any female who'd have a message so important that she'd need to give it to him personally.

"I have sir, several times," Sara replied. "She keeps calling back."

"Who is it?" Sesshomaru finally asked.

"She said her name is Kagome Higurashi."

And why, Sesshomaru wondered, would Kagome be calling him? He was certain it was about nothing good. And how had she gotten his phone number?

"I'll take it," Sesshomaru said, and Sara left his office.

Picking up the phone, Sesshomaru had to ask, "How did you get my number?"

"Several hours of hard work," Kagome's voice said. "Really, you should have just given it to me in case of emergencies."

Sesshomaru frowned. "Did someone find out about Inuyasha?"

"No," Kagome said quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. "Actually…someone found out about you."

"Explain."

"Well, you see I have some relatives that are spending the week at my house. The other day my cousin, Kikyo, told me about this group she's a part of, the Society of Light. They know about yokai, and for some reason are convinced all yokai are evil. They want to exterminate yokai, and don't ask me how, because I don't know, but somehow they've figured out that you are a yokai. They're planning to try and kill you."

It wouldn't be the first time someone had tried to kill Sesshomaru, but something about Kagome's story struck him as being off.

"Tell me, Kagome, why would your cousin tell you about their plans to assassinate me?"

There was a pause. "She was trying to recruit me."

"And did you say no?"

"Of course I said no!"

"And did she reveal her plans to commit murder before or after you rejected her offer?"

Silence.

"Do you see how thin your lie is, Kagome?"

"I'm not lying!" Kagome snapped.

Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair. "Oh, I doubt you're lying completely. I have been hearing rumors for awhile about a group that wished to exterminate yokai. The part I think you're lying about is the part where your cousin just told you. Tell me what really happened."

Dial tone. Sesshomaru stared at the phone in his hand. She had hung up on him? Sesshomaru sighed and called Shippo's cell phone.

"Hello?"

"I believe Kagome and Inuyasha's situation has been compromised. I want you and Koga to retrieve them."

"Yes, sir."

Sesshomaru hung up the phone. It looked like he was going to be taking another trip.

* * *

Kagome glared at the phone in her hands. Drat that Sesshomaru! He was far too perceptive. Kagome had a feeling that it was a good thing she'd sent Inuyasha away to Miroku's last night.

Her bedroom door opened, and Souta stuck his head inside. "Ah, good you're alone."

"What do you need?" Kagome asked.

"I was wondering where Inuyasha was," Souta said. "He wasn't in my room last night, and he hasn't come back this morning."

"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you. I sent Inuyasha to Miroku's house. It, uh, seemed safer," Kagome said.

Souta frowned. "What aren't you telling me, sis?"

Kagome's head dropped. Was she really that transparent? "It's a long story, Souta. I don't have time to tell you right now."

"Kagome, come help up make lunch!" Mrs. Higurashi called.

"Coming, Mom!" Kagome said and went downstairs.

When they were almost done cooking, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Souta yelled.

A few moments later Souta came into the kitchen. "Kagome, there are some men at the door that want to talk to you."

"What about?" Mrs. Higurashi asked with a frown.

Souta shrugged. "I don't know, but they look important.

Kagome felt uneasy. Would Sesshomaru have sent Shippo and Koga to get her? It was possible. He had said that if anyone found out about Inuyasha, he'd have them removed to a reservation, by force if he needed to.

Kagome walked out of the kitchen and to the front door, Mrs. Higurashi trailing behind her. Sure enough, it was Shippo and Koga waiting for her there.

"Can I help you?" Kagome asked with a frown.

Koga spoke up first. "We're going to need you to come with us, Miss Higurashi."

Kagome's mother stepped up then. "And where exactly are you taking her?"

Shippo flashed a badge that he put away before it could be studied. "Down to the station, ma'am. We have reason to believe that your daughter was involved in the recent vandalism of a statue at the museum on Halloween night."

Mrs. Higurashi looked insulted. "How dare you! I was with my daughter all night! She didn't do a thing!"

"Be that as it may," Koga said, "we still need to talk to her."

So this was their plan! They were pretending to be cops so they could get her away from her family. Well, Kagome wouldn't have any of this.

"Come back with a warrant and I'll go with you," Kagome said, and prepared to shut the door. However, Koga reached in and grabbed her wrist before she could.

"Now, wait just a minute," he started, but was cut off.

"Let go of my cousin, monster!"

Everyone turned to see Kikyo glaring Koga and Shippo, a bow in her hand.

_What the…since when did Kikyo have a bow?_

Kagome didn't have long to wonder however. A glowing arrow materialized from the air and Kikyo shot the arrow at Koga. Kagome's eyes widened as pink and purple light swirled around the shaft, making it resemble a missile rather than a simple arrow.

Swearing, Koga wrapped one arm around Kagome and jumped out of the way as the arrow zoomed past. When they landed Kagome saw that Shippo had similarly grabbed her mother and jumped out of the way as well.

"Are you crazy, wench?" Koga yelled. "That would have killed Kagome and her mother as well as us!"

Kikyo scoffed. "Fool. I know full well my power can't hurt humans."

"Your power is tainted!" Shippo snapped. "A human can die from that just as quick as we can."

"Liar!" Kikyo shouted and fired another arrow at Shippo. He dodged again, shielding Mrs. Higurashi.

By this time the rest of the family had heard what was going on and rushed out. "Kikyo!" her mother cried out in shock and fear.

Koga swore. "Where's Inuyasha, Kagome?"

"Not here," she replied.

"Shippo, let's go!" Koga yelled, and then took off at breakneck speeds, leaving Kagome's family behind.


	13. Chapter 13

Souta ran to his mother where she sat on the ground. "Mom, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, even though Souta could plainly see that she was shaking.

Souta glared at Kikyo who was staring off in the distance, maybe trying to see where those guys had gone with Kagome. "What were you thinking?" he yelled at her.

Kikyo looked over at him, surprise written on her face. "What?"

"You could have hurt Mom and Kagome!" he yelled.

Kikyo's expression softened. "Souta, they weren't in any danger from my arrows. They won't hurt humans."

Souta stomped towards her. "That's not what it looked like to me!" He grabbed her bow and tried to yank it away from her. "Give me that!"

"Souta let go!" Kikyo said yanking back.

There was a flash of light and Souta was knocked back several feet.

"Souta!"

His mom quickly pulled him up in her arms and Grandpa, Aunt Hina and Uncle Ryou knelt over him. "Are you alright?"

Kikyo stood where she was, looking horrified. "Souta, I'm so sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen."

Souta felt like he'd just been electrocuted, and he was willing to bet that what had hit him hadn't been as powerful as those arrows that she'd been shooting. She really could have killed Kagome or his mom.

"Kikyo," Aunt Hina said, "what is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Mother, I don't have time to explain," Kikyo said. "I have to go after Kagome; she's in grave danger."

Kikyo ran off down the steps and disappeared from view.

_Kagome's in danger?_ But who was she in danger from? The two men that had taken her or Kikyo?

_I've got to get Inuyasha. He'll know what to do._

Souta struggled to his feet. He felt a little weak from Kikyo's blast, but otherwise fine. "Mom, we've got to get to Miroku's house."

She looked confused. "But why?"

"Inuyasha's there. He'll be able to save Kagome if something's wrong."

"Will someone explain to us what exactly is going on?" Uncle Ryou snapped.

"I'll explain on the way," Souta said, "though I'm not sure how Kikyo fits into all this."

They climbed into the car and Mrs. Higurashi drove quickly to Miroku's house. On the way Souta explained everything about Inuyasha to Uncle Ryou and Aunt Hina, but they too were at a loss as to how Kikyo was involved.

"We're here," Mrs. Higurashi said pulling into Miroku's driveway.

Souta jumped out of the car before she'd even had a chance to turn it off. He raced up the walk and ran inside the house.

"Inuyasha!"

Miroku came from the living room looking shocked. "Souta? What's going on?"

"Where's Inuyasha?" Souta demanded. "I've got to talk to him!"

Invisible hands grabbed Souta's shoulders letting him know that Inuyasha was there. Souta poured out the whole story to him without hesitation, making sure to describe both of the men he had seen.

Inuyasha let go of Souta, but Miroku grabbed a hold of what must have been Inuyasha's arm. "Think before you rush off, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "You don't even know where to start looking!"

Inuyasha snatched up a pad of paper and a pen that Souta hadn't noticed and scribbled out a reply.

Miroku read it and calmly said, "So, they work for your brother. I happen to know where his headquarters in this city are. That's probably where they've taken her, or at least that's where we'll find out where she's been taken."

Inuyasha scribbled something else.

"Of course I'm going," Miroku said. "How do you expect to get any information when no one can see or hear you? Besides, I can get us there faster in a car than you can by running. Now let's go."

"What are you planning to do?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

Miroku smiled at her. "Don't worry, Mrs. Higurashi. Inuyasha and I are going to get Kagome back, and Kikyo. You should all go home."

"You're not going without me," Uncle Ryou said.

Miroku sighed. "Sir, more people will only get in the way."

"I'm not leaving my daughter in a situation like this on her own," he declared.

"Inuyasha," Miroku said, sounding irritated.

Uncle Ryou gasped and collapsed. Aunt Hina and Mrs. Higurashi caught him.

"Let's go, Inuyasha," Miroku said. They went outside and headed to his car just as a new car pulled in the drive.

"Miroku, what's going on?" Sango called as she got out of her car.

"No time," Miroku said as he jumped in his own car. Without hesitating Sango ran and jumped in his car just before it sped away.

"Now what do we do?" Grandpa asked.

"I guess we wait," Souta said.

* * *

Kagome held on tight to Koga as he jumped from roof top to roof top. Finally, he and Shippo stopped on one.

"Kagome, where is Inuyasha?" Koga snapped.

_Inuyasha…Oh no, Inuyasha is at Miroku's house! I can't get Miroku involved in this!_

Kagome glared up at him. "First, I'd like you to explain why you kidnapped me!"

"Maybe because you're crazy cousin found out about us," Shippo said. "This is for your own good, Kagome. Now tell us where Inuyasha is."

"You don't care about what's good for me," Kagome said. "You just care about what's good for yourselves!"

Koga dropped her onto the roof and grabbed her face in his hands. "Listen to me, Kagome," he growled. "What do you think will happen if the world finds out about us?"

Kagome sat still, shaken by Koga's rough treatment. "I don't know."

"A war, that's what will happen! Our races have never been able to get along, never!" Koga said. "Humans don't accept anyone different than they are. Humans can't even get along with each other for crying out loud! It'll be World War Three, and one of our races won't survive. That's why we have to hide; that's why we need you to tell us where Inuyasha is!"

Kagome couldn't help but be a bit scared. Was that really what they thought would happen? They thought humans would start a war? And to prevent that, how far would they go? Would they hurt innocents that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? How many people that she cared about were in danger because she'd told them about the existence of Inuyasha?

_What have I done? I never thought that my family or friends would be in danger for knowing. I can't tell them where Inuyasha is! I can't endanger Miroku!_

"Inuyasha's fine where he is," Kagome said.

"Kagome, this isn't a game!" Koga snapped.

"You think I don't realize that?" Kagome said. "That's exactly why I'm not telling you anything!"

"You got a friend involved," Shippo said. "That's why you won't say anything."

Kagome glared at him, but didn't respond.

Koga swore. "Kagome, how many people have you told about us?"

Again Kagome refused to speak.

"We've got to get her to Sesshomaru," Shippo said. "Now."

* * *

Kikyo stopped running when Onigumo's car pulled up beside her. She opened the door and hopped in.

"Kikyo, what happened?" Onigumo asked.

"Kagome was captured," she said. Then she hesitated, staring at the bow in her hand. It shouldn't have hurt Souta. Onigumo had assured her more than once that her powers couldn't hurt humans.

"Onigumo," Kikyo said, "the bow hurt my cousin, Souta. Why would that have happened? You said it couldn't hurt humans."

Onigumo looked surprised. "It shouldn't have hurt a human. The only thing I can think of is perhaps he was being controlled by a yokai. If he was, then the bow would have reacted to free him of that control."

Kikyo relaxed some then. That made sense. Souta had acted strange, yelling at her like that. Plus Inuyasha had been staying in Souta's room, although he had disappeared when she got back from her lunch with Onigumo. She didn't know where he had gone, or how he was hiding, but she hadn't been able to find him since.

"How are we going to find Kagome?" Kikyo asked.

"I'm not sure if we can track her down," Onigumo said. "However, with the information you gave me, the Society of Light was able to figure out where the yokai headquarters are. We're planning to attack, and if we do, we might find Kagome, or someone who knows where she's being kept."

"You've found it so quickly?" Kikyo asked, surprised.

"I have a lot of contacts, and once we knew who we were looking for, it was easy," Onigumo said. "Do you want to come with us when we attack?"

"Yes," Kikyo said without hesitation. This was what she had trained to do. She would destroy those monsters and rescue Kagome. Soon now it would all be over.


	14. Chapter 14

Kagome was not a happy camper to say the least. She was sitting stiffly in a plush chair that was in what seemed to be a private living quarters at the top of Taisho Corps' Tokyo headquarters. Shippo and Koga were with her, and the three of them were waiting for Sesshomaru to arrive from wherever it may be that he was coming from. Kagome didn't know, and she didn't overly care.

What Kagome cared about now was somehow getting out of here. What she would do then she wasn't sure. She was sure that this whole situation had become far more dangerous than she was comfortable with.

_First I find out Kikyo is a part of a group that wants to exterminate an entire species, and then I find out that said species is desperate to prevent World War Three, and desperate people do horrible, stupid things!_

Desperate people were willing to do what no else was, like murder innocent people whose only mistake had been to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

_Hold it Kagome; you've got to think rationally. Jumping to conclusions will only make you desperate. Now, will Sesshomaru really order Miroku, Sango, and my family killed?_

It was possible, Kagome decided. However, it was also possible that he would simply order that they be taken to a reservation along with Inuyasha and Kagome. Even so, Kagome didn't want them to have to be stripped away from everything and everyone they knew. _She_ didn't want to be stripped from the life she knew.

The whole thing was just unfair. It wasn't like she had wanted to get involved with yokai and their problems. She hadn't set out to discover them. She'd just gone to a museum and touched a statue on a dare.

_I wish I could just get away from them; all of them. I wish I could just live a normal life with my family, friends, and Inuyasha._

Kagome blinked. Since when had Inuyasha figured in her definition of normal? She wasn't sure, but it seemed right. But with Inuyasha came the rest of the package. Things could never be normal as long as Inuyasha was around. Sesshomaru would never let them live in peace, Kikyo and the Society of Light would never stop hunting them…Ultimately, the end result would be the same, no matter what Kagome did. She would be forever on the run, never able to settle down and lead a normal life.

So, if Kagome accepted that normal was out of the question, what then? Where did that leave her?

_I want Inuyasha to stay with me, but I don't want us to be caged. I want us to be free._

She knew she was going to have to confront Sesshomaru if they were to even have a hope of making that dream a reality. However, that was not a confrontation she wanted to have by herself. But she couldn't tell them where Inuyasha was because she didn't want to get Miroku in trouble, and she wasn't stupid enough to think they'd let her try and get Inuyasha by herself.

_Think, girl. There's got to be something you can do._

"Can I go to the bathroom?" she blurted. Not very original, and maybe not even useful, but it would get her away from their eyes for a few minutes at least.

"Its right over there," Shippo said.

Kagome stood and stiffly walked into the bathroom. She locked the door once she was inside, knowing as she did so that a simple locked door wouldn't stop Koga or Shippo if they really wanted to get in.

Glancing around, Kagome took stock of what was in the bathroom. There had to be something she could use.

A minute or two of searching revealed that there wasn't anything the least bit useful in there. There wasn't even a window for her to climb out of; not that Kagome really thought she could successfully scale the side of a sky scraper.

_But I have to escape somehow!_

But as long as Koga and Shippo were watching her, there was no way she could get out of there. If she could somehow get them to leave her alone…

A plan began to form in her mind. She just might be able to get rid of them after all. She was certain that there was one topic that would make any man, no matter what species, run for the hills.

Kagome flushed the toilet so the guys wouldn't get suspicious, and then schooled her face into a pained and somewhat embarrassed look. Clutching her stomach she opened the door and shuffled back into the living room where Koga and Shippo were waiting.

"Um, could you guys do me a favor?"

Koga scowled, apparently still not happy with her. "No."

"I need tampons," she said.

Both men froze, and looks of horror slowly crossed their faces. Kagome almost laughed, but didn't. She had to act quickly before they calmed down enough for their noses to tell them that she had not actually started her period.

"Please?" Kagome asked. "I need tampons quick, before I bleed through my clothes."

"I'm going, I'm going," Koga said, nearly running for the door. In less than a second, he was gone.

Kagome turned her pleading expression to Shippo, who took a few steps back. "I'm starting to cramp up too. Do you have any pain medicine with you?"

"Er, not on me no," Shippo said. "We'll have to go to the nurse."

Kagome let her eyes widen. "I can't go with you! What if I bleed through my jeans?"

"I'll just go by myself then," Shippo said edging for the door. "I'll be right back."

Kagome waited for a minute to make sure Shippo was gone and then grinned to herself. That had been easier than she expected. She checked the front door and was pleased to see Shippo had left it unlocked. She followed the short hall that led directly to an elevator.

"Going down," Kagome said cheerfully pressing the down button.

* * *

When Sango had jumped in Miroku's car, she had had the painful misfortune of jumping on Inuyasha who had immediately tossed her in the back seat. "Okay, will someone please tell me what's going on?" Sango asked after straightening herself.

"Kagome's been kidnapped by some of Sesshomaru's henchmen," Miroku said.

"What? Why?" Sango asked.

"I'm not certain," Miroku said, "but I have a feeling it has to do with Kikyo."

Sango scowled. She didn't like not understanding what people were talking about. "Okay, stop, back up, and explain with all details."

So Miroku told her about what he'd overheard the other day at the diner, and how Kagome had decided that it would be safest if Inuyasha stayed with him.

"So, Kagome warned Sesshomaru about the Society of Light, he probably figured out that others knew about Inuyasha, and he decided to make good on his threat to ship them off to a reservation," Sango summarized.

"I believe so, yes," Miroku said.

Sango hit him upside the head.

"Ouch! Sango, not while I'm driving!"

"This is all your fault, Miroku!" Sango said. "Kagome never would have called him if you hadn't insisted."

"And what were we supposed to do?" Miroku asked. "Let the Society of Light slaughter an entire race of people?"

Sango bit her lip. She understood what Miroku was saying, and ultimately, she knew he was right. But Sango didn't care nearly as much about a group of people she'd never met as she did about her best friend.

"So, how are we going to get her back?" Sango asked.

"I'm not certain," Miroku said. "My guess is that she was taken to the Taisho Corporation headquarters in this city. I would also guess that most of the people working there are human, and probably don't know that their boss is a yokai. There would be too much risk of word about their existence getting out otherwise."

"We know at least two of the people there are going to be yokai," Sango said, "three if Sesshomaru's there too."

"And we should assume he is," Miroku said. "It's best to plan for the worst case scenario."

Inuyasha scrawled something on his notepad and shoved it in her face. Sango read the words and frowned. "No disrespect meant, Inuyasha, but are you sure you can take all three of them?"

Inuyasha wrote, '_Of course I can!'_

"Hopefully, it won't come to that," Miroku said. "But it does give me an idea. When we get there, just let me do the talking and follow my lead."

They pulled into a parking space in front of the skyscraper that was Taisho Corp. The three of them climbed out of the car and started towards the building.

"Stay close, both of you," Miroku said.

The lobby inside was large and richly decorated. There was a station with several receptionists in the center of the room. Miroku walked up to a free one and smiled at the older woman. She sent him a frosty stare in response.

"Good afternoon, madam," Miroku said gallantly.

"Can I help you?" she snapped.

Miroku didn't bat an eye at her less than warm reception. "My associate and I would like to speak to Mr. Taisho."

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked, clearly unimpressed.

"No," Miroku said, and the woman cut him off.

"No appointment, no meeting. Besides, Mr. Taisho isn't in the city today."

Miroku didn't let his smile fade, although he was somewhat thrown by this bit of information. If Sesshomaru wasn't even in the city, was it possible that his henchmen had taken Kagome directly to him? If so, how were they supposed to find her then?

"Is there any way you could get me in contact with him?" Miroku asked.

"No," the woman snapped. "Now, I suggest you kids quit wasting my time and leave."

Sango slammed her hand on the desk. "I suggest you get us in contact with Taisho before I lose my temper."

The receptionist quickly backed up. "Security!"

A gorilla of a man walked over and grabbed Sango's shoulder. That was a mistake. Miroku had learned the hard was that you never grabbed Sango when she was mad, especially the behind, er, _from_ behind.

Despite his bulk, Sango threw the man over the receptionist's desk. It was just plain bad luck that the receptionist was in the way.

More security guards arrived, and Miroku moved to put his back to Sango's. In doing so he brushed up against Inuyasha, and quickly grabbed hold of his sleeve. "Don't attack them, Inuyasha," Miroku muttered quietly. "We can't let them know you're here yet."

"What's going on?" a voice cracked like a whip.

Everyone stopped and looked. Sesshomaru was standing in the doorway, apparently having just arrived, and not happy with what he saw.

Miroku brushed past shocked security guards and stood in front of Sesshomaru with an easy, confident smile. "Ah, Mr. Taisho. I apologize for the ruckus. Sango and I merely wanted to speak with you about a mutual acquaintance. You do remember Inuyasha, of course?"

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, if only minimally. "Come with me."

They followed him to an elevator, and Miroku couldn't resist a cheerful wave to the receptionist who looked as if the gorilla man might have broken her nose.

Looking ahead again, Miroku saw Sesshomaru frowning at the elevator, and it took him a moment to realize why. The elevator was on its way down, but Sesshomaru hadn't pressed any buttons yet.

A moment later the doors dinged open, and Kagome stood before them. "Ah, crud," she said.

* * *

Outside of Taisho Corporation, feelings of uncertainty rose up inside of Kikyo again. She hadn't hesitated to agree to this fight, but she couldn't help but feel that this was the wrong place for it.

"Onigumo," Kikyo said quietly, "there are humans in there."

"Humans that have agreed to serve the yokai," Onigumo said. "They are as evil as yokai are, and just as deserving of death."

How could he know that? They'd only just found the place. How could he know what any of the people were like that worked in there?

"Are you getting cold feet, Kikyo?"

Kikyo glared at Kagura. Kagura was Onigumo's sister, and Kikyo couldn't help but dislike the woman. Every word that came out of her mouth was snide and sarcastic, as if she went out of her way to try and belittle people. Kikyo tolerated her only for Onigumo's sake.

"I'm not getting cold feet," Kikyo said. "I just wonder if this is the best place for a battle. Innocents could be caught in the crossfire."

"Kikyo is right," Ungai said. "This is not the place for such a battle."

"It's the perfect place," Hakudoshi said. Hakudoshi was only fourteen, and Kikyo didn't think he should be participating in any sort of battle at his age. But, he was also Onigumo's brother, and if Onigumo wasn't going to send him away, then it wasn't Kikyo's place to say anything.

"How is it perfect?" Ungai asked.

Hakudoshi smirked. "The yokai will be forced to reveal themselves when we attack. The whole world will see them for the monsters they are, and everyone will side with us to destroy them."

Ungai nodded slightly, as if this made sense, and in a manner of speaking, it did. But Kikyo still didn't like it. She kept seeing the expression on her family's face when Souta had been hurt because of her.

_But there's no arguing with them. They're going to do this here and now._

And Kikyo didn't want to stop them from killing the yokai. She just didn't want any humans to be harmed. Kikyo made up her mind then. No matter what happened, she was going to do her best to make sure that the humans stayed safe, even if Onigumo did get upset with her.

_I won't sacrifice innocents, not even for the man I love._

"Is everyone ready then?" Onigumo asked.

Everyone said yes.

"Then let's go."


	15. Chapter 15

"How did you get past Koga and Shippo?" Sesshomaru couldn't resist asking Kagome.

Kagome shrugged. "I tricked them into leaving me alone. More importantly, what are you," she paused for a second, "two doing here?"

Sesshomaru would have rolled his eyes if such an act were not undignified. He might not be able to see or hear Inuyasha, but he could easily sense his half brother's presence. But he would let them believe for now that he was ignorant. It may work to his advantage later.

"We came to rescue you," Sango said.

"So you came with Sesshomaru," she said, her tone clearly stating that she didn't think much of this attempt.

"We bumped into each other in the lobby," Miroku said.

There was a soft ding and the elevator doors opened. "Proceed," Sesshomaru ordered.

The three humans, and one hanyou, filed out of the elevator and Sesshomaru followed. What was he to do with them all? Quite obviously Kagome's friends knew everything Kagome knew, and it was probably quite reasonable to assume Kagome had told her family about the situation as well.

What to do with them all?

Sesshomaru didn't want to kill them, though he wouldn't feel guilty about the act, but he wasn't sure they were really worth the risk of keeping alive.

"Now what?" Kagome asked, turning to stare at him as he shut the door to his apartment.

"I am debating on whether or not I should bother moving your friends to a reservation, or if I should just kill them here and now," Sesshomaru said. "The latter would certainly be far easier."

Kagome looked horrified, and then angry. "You won't lay a finger on them!"

Sesshomaru couldn't stop a small smirk. "I don't need to."

Her eyes flashed with fury. Kagome stomped towards him and pointed a finger in his face. "Now you listen to me, jerk! You're going to let us go; all of us! We're not going to tell people about you, and you are never going to bother us again."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, but not at Kagome's words, insulting as they were. While she was making her demands, Sesshomaru had seen a flicker of something across her aura. Intrigued, Sesshomaru decided to push her.

His hand shot out and snagged the front of Kagome's shirt, yanking her up into the air. At the same time, he pivoted his body putting Kagome between himself and the direction Inuyasha's attack would have come from.

"Put her down!"

Sesshomaru easily dodged Sango's kick, and wrapped his fingers around her neck from behind. "Perhaps I should start with this one."

"Let her go!" Kagome shrieked. On the last word, a blinding white light burst from her body. When it faded, Sesshomaru had retreated to the safety of the other side of the room.

Sesshomaru studied the black burns on his hand and arm. They would heal, but it would take a few hours. He glanced up at Kagome who was kneeling beside Sango.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," Sango said.

Kagome looked relieved. "Good. Inuyasha, kill Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow in amusement. As if Inuyasha could. But he doubted that Inuyasha would try anyways.

"What do you mean he wasn't trying to hurt Sango?" Kagome demanded, presumably looking at Inuyasha. "He was choking her!"

"If I had meant to kill her, she'd be dead," Sesshomaru said, losing patience with Kagome's anger. "I merely wished to get you upset enough to access your power."

Kagome's face went blank. "My power."

Sesshomaru raised his burned hand.

Kagome's eyes widened. "I did that?"

She looked away as Inuyasha said something to her. It was annoying not being able to hear what Inuyasha said when Kagome could. Kagome looked down at the beads wrapped around her wrist. "I see," she said slowly.

"Care to explain to the rest of us?" asked the young man. Sesshomaru hadn't heard his name yet.

"Inuyasha says," Kagome started, but then an explosion rocked the building, and Sesshomaru sensed a familiar energy.

"Impossible," he snarled. He could sense Naraku. But Naraku was dead! Sesshomaru had killed him himself, and the people Sesshomaru killed were supposed to stay dead.

Sesshomaru dashed over to a painting that was actually a disguised door and yanked it off its hinges. The safe behind it was enchanted to connect to several other safes he owned, to be sure that three certain swords would always be in his possession. He opened the safe's door and pulled out the Tenseiga and Bakusaiga.

"Inuyasha, take Tetsusaiga," Sesshomaru said. "We've got intruders to take care of."

It would take too long to take the elevator, and it wouldn't be wise to that that anyways if they were under attack. Whirling around Sesshomaru used his whip to shatter a window. Without a backwards glance, he jumped out to the ground.

* * *

Kagome stared as Inuyasha snatched a sword out of the safe. "Stay here!" he ordered before jumping out of the building after Sesshomaru.

Another explosion from somewhere below made Kagome stumble. "No way am I staying here!"

"I agree," Miroku said. "I think we should get out of here, and fast."

The three teens went to the elevator, and Miroku hit the button for the nearest floor. "It wouldn't be smart to take the elevator all the way down in this," he said by way of explanation. "We'll take the stairs as soon as we can."

As they rushed to try and make it to the lobby floor, Kagome took a second to try and boost her courage. Even if she was determined not to hide, she was still scared. This could only mean one thing; the Society of Light was attacking, which meant Kikyo was probably with them.

_Oh, Kikyo, why couldn't I make you see the truth?_

No time for thoughts like that. There were a bunch of innocent people in the building that needed to be protected, though Kagome wasn't sure what she could do for them. After all, Inuyasha had told her that since her power had activated the beads no yokai would be able to get near her, but they weren't going to be fighting yokai. The Society of Light would have only humans, and her power wouldn't affect them.

_Still, I've got to do something! I can't just let people get hurt._

They finally made it to the first floor, and Miroku threw open the door leading into the lobby. Kagome's eyes widened. They were entering a war zone.


	16. Chapter 16

The spacious lobby didn't retain any of its elegance now. Furniture was blasted, holes gouged into the floor and wall, and though Kagome tried not to look, she thought she saw a few bodies lying here and there. People were panicking, running every which way to try and escape.

There was only one spot that seemed at all calm, and that was at the center of the room, where Inuyasha and Sesshomaru stood facing down one man.

"That's Onigumo," Kagome whispered. She recognized him from the picture Kikyo had shown her. Was Onigumo going to try and take on both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru by himself?

"Actually," a woman's voice said, "his name is Naraku."

Kagome and the others turned to see a woman tapping a fan against her chin, eerily calm despite the chaos around them.

_Her eyes…are red._

The woman smirked. "Not that his name makes a difference for any of you. After all, you're all about to be dead."

Her fan snapped open. "Dance of Blades!"

"I don't think so!"

Koga appeared as if from nowhere, kicking the fan out of the woman's hand and stopping her only half formed attack.

The woman jumped back, glaring at him. "Insufferable mutt!"

Koga sighed. "See, now you're mixing me up with Inuyasha, and that really makes me mad."

Koga lunged at her, and she dodged.

"Come on," Miroku said, tugging Kagome's hand. "Let's get out of the way."

The three ran away from Koga and the murderous woman, ducking unnoticed behind a desk. "Listen," Miroku hissed. "I want the two of you to get out of here. I'm going to see if I can help some of these hurt people."

"We're not just going to leave you here," Sango said.

Miroku leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. Kagome looked away, embarrassed. _Okay, total third wheel here._

"Go," Miroku ordered, pulling away. As he started to stand, Kagome said, "Wait!"

Miroku paused, looking irritated. "What?"

"If you're staying, take these," Kagome said, pulling the beads off of her wrist.

"Why?" Miroku asked.

"Because that woman with the fan," Kagome paused for a second. "I don't think she's human."

_Which means this can't be the Society of Light because they hate yokai. But I saw Onigumo earlier so this has to be them._

Kagome didn't understand the full implications of her thoughts, but she knew that something fishy was going on. Now wasn't the time to try and sort it out though.

"Just take them!" Kagome said. "They'll keep you safe from anyone who isn't human."

Miroku accepted the beads. "Alright, now just go!"

Miroku dashed off, and Sango turned to Kagome, a determined look in her eye. "We're not leaving him."

"Course not," Kagome said. "He'll just feel better if he thinks we did."

About that time desk exploded around them. Sango and Kagome covered their heads as they were hit by splintered pieces of wood. When it stopped, the air was filled with swear words spoken with Inuyasha's gruff voice.

Kagome looked up. "Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha whirled around. So far he didn't look any worse for the wear, though he had a giant sword in his hand and a scowl on his face.

"Kagome, what are you doing here? I told you to stay up top!"

"At the top of a sky scraper that has explosions going on at the bottom? I don't think so!" Kagome responded.

"Well, this must be Kagome, the little girl that freed you Inuyasha."

Inuyasha jumped to put himself between Kagome and Onigumo. Kagome shivered at the sound of Onigumo's oily voice. This guy was creepy to the max. What did Kikyo see in him?

Onigumo eyed Kagome. "I didn't think there would ever be anyone capable of breaking my curse."

His curse? But Inuyasha was cursed hundreds of years ago. There was no way Onigumo could have been alive at that time.

"Back off, Naraku," Inuyasha said. "Kagome's got nothing to do with this."

_But his name is Onigumo…isn't it?_

Suddenly, it all made sense. Onigumo was Naraku, the yokai who'd cursed Inuyasha. He'd probably been planning to attack Sesshomaru for a while now, and to do that he'd gathered the people that would have the best chance of defeating yokai; he'd gotten together people with spiritual powers. And to do that, he'd have to pretend that he was human.

_And that means his whole relationship with Kikyo is based on lies._

Though it probably wasn't the time, Kagome couldn't help but feel a rush of sympathy for Kikyo. She was in love with a man that didn't exist.

"Ah, but Kagome has quite a bit to do with this," Naraku said, surprising Kagome. He could hear Inuyasha? Could probably see him too, in that case. "You see, now I know how to hurt you the most. I do that by killing her."

Suddenly, Sesshomaru appeared behind Naraku, swinging a sword down at his head. Naraku whirled and blocked with his own sword, which Kagome hadn't noticed him having earlier.

"Bad form Sesshomaru, attacking when your enemy has his back to you," Naraku said mockingly. "Does this mean you're still mad that I didn't die five hundred years ago like you thought I had?"

Naraku used his sword to shove Sesshomaru back. While they were distracted, Sango grabbed Kagome's hand. "Come on, we've got to get you out of here."

_Oh, right, Naraku said he was going to kill me._ The full weight of his words sank in. _Ohmygosh, he's going to kill me!_

And then Naraku was in front of them. "Don't think I'll let you escape."

There was a flash of metal, and Sango screamed as Naraku's sword pierced her shoulder. He yanked the sword out and Kagome caught Sango as she fell unconscious, but the weight of Sango's limp body threw Kagome off balance, and she stumbled to her knees.

Naraku drew his sword back. "Die."

Suddenly, Kagome's beads wrapped around Naraku's hand and hilt, immediately lighting an eerie white fire over Naraku's hand and sword. Naraku dropped the sword with a howl; the glowing sword broke into pieces when it hit the ground.

Peaking around Naraku, Kagome could see Miroku running towards them. It seemed he had thrown the beads at Naraku when he saw the danger that Kagome and Sango were in.

_But where are Sesshomaru and Inuyasha?_

Glancing around, Kagome spotted them being held back by a young teenage boy with long white hair. Her attention didn't settle on them for long, however.

"You," Naraku snarled, glaring at Miroku. Naraku threw the beads back at him, but they moved much quicker than the force of the throw should have allowed.

"Miroku, look out!" Kagome screamed.

Miroku raised his right hand to shield himself, but Kagome watched in horror as the beads went completely through his hand and over his shoulder. Miroku let out a cry of pain and doubled over his injured hand.

Naraku watched his pain with an amused smirk. Kagome felt anger building up inside her chest; Naraku had hurt her friends, had hurt innocent people, and he was enjoying their pain.

_I hate him; he's a monster, and he needs to die._

For once, Kagome didn't shy away from the violence in her thoughts. She didn't understand why Naraku was doing this, but she understood that he was evil, and that was really all she needed to know.

Naraku was going to pay.

A breeze tugged at Kagome's hair and clothes, quickly building in force. Kagome's mind snapped back to the present, and she looked up. Miroku was holding out his hand, and where the beads had pierced it was what looked like a black hole. The wind was coming from the hole in his hand.

_No, not coming from. Going into._

Naraku jumped out of the stream of wind, and smiled at Miroku. "I must thank you. That Wind Tunnel I cursed you with is about to do a lot of my work for me."

Kagome felt herself and Sango slide across the floor towards Miroku, pulled by the wind. Rubble flew past her and towards his hand; Kagome watched as the rubble shrank and went into his hand. She met Miroku's eyes and they both understood. That thing in Miroku's hand didn't just look like a black hole; it was a black hole.

Then the full force of the wind hit Kagome, yanking both her and Sango into the air, and rushing them towards their death.

Miroku jerked around so his back was to Kagome and Sango and the Wind Tunnel pointed away. The girls hit his back and all three fell to the ground. Sango groaned, the fall having jarred her shoulder and pained her even in her unconscious state.

Suddenly, the roar of the Wind Tunnel stopped. Blinking, Kagome craned her neck to see what had happened. Miroku was clutching the beads that Kagome had given him in his right hand, all traces of the Wind Tunnel gone.

_Of course; Naraku used the beads to cause Miroku's Wind Tunnel, so Miroku can use them to block the Wind Tunnel._

Now wasn't the time to think though. Kagome scrambled off of Miroku, carefully pulling Sango with her.

"What a pity," Naraku said, stalking forward. "It would have been so amusing to see you kill each other."

A wall of blue-green fire shot up from the ground, blocking Naraku's path towards them. Shippo appeared, wrapping one arm around Kagome and Sango, and snatching Miroku up with the other. Using his superior speed, he dashed over to the other side of the lobby.

Once in relative safety, he dropped Miroku to the ground and asked, "Think you can use that thing in your hand against these guys?"

Miroku looked pale but determined. "Definitely."

Shippo carefully took Sango from Kagome. "I'm going to get her to safety. Kagome, you should come with me."

"No," Kagome said, prepared to argue for her right to stay and try to help.

However, Shippo didn't seem to find it worth arguing over. "Fine," he said, and dashed off with Sango.

"Kagome," Miroku started, but Kagome cut him off.

"Do we really have time to argue about this?"

"No," Naraku said. "You really don't."

Miroku jumped in front of Kagome, but Naraku was quicker, knocking him to the side before he could uncover his Wind Tunnel.

"Stop!"

Naraku froze and glanced to the side. Kagome followed his gaze and saw Kikyo running towards them, the bow in her hand. Kagome frowned. Something about Kikyo was off. Kagome couldn't put her finger on it, but something was wrong. Did Kikyo know?

"Onigumo, what do you think you're doing? Kagome and Miroku aren't our enemies!"

"They've sold themselves to the yokai," Naraku said. "There is no hope of saving them anymore."

Kagome was dumbfounded. Couldn't Kikyo see that Naraku wasn't human? It was so obvious. And why didn't she seem to notice that Naraku's arm was badly burned? And since Kikyo had spirit powers, why couldn't she sense that Naraku and the others with him weren't human?

_Naraku is keeping her from seeing the truth somehow. So how do I show her what's real?_

"I won't let you hurt Kagome," Kikyo said, placing herself between Kagome and Naraku. "She's family! I can't give up on her."

Kagome's attention was distracted by the bow in Kikyo's hand. It was the same bow that Kikyo had used earlier, and now Kagome could see what Shippo and Koga had meant about it being tainted. There seemed to be a dark sinister air about it. Could that be how Naraku was deceiving her?

"She's a danger to your family," Naraku said. "She'll get the rest of them killed."

No, it couldn't be the bow. Kagome was pretty sure Kikyo hadn't had it for very long. What else could it be?

_The locket._

Kagome stared at the locket, and for the first time noticed the faint glow. That was how Naraku had blinded Kikyo; he used that locket to make her see what he wanted her to see. So Kagome needed to get the locket off of Kikyo, and then Kikyo would see what was real.

Kagome lunged forward and grabbed the locket's chain. Electricity shot up Kagome's arms, as if the locket sensed her intentions and was trying to get rid of her. But Kagome was determined; she pulled, and the chain snapped.

"No!" Naraku cried, leaping towards the girls. For the first time that Kagome had seen, Naraku actually looked panicked.

But Inuyasha appeared before Naraku could reach them, and he kicked Naraku back. "I told you to stay away from her!"

Kikyo stared at Naraku, her face white as a sheet. "Oni…gumo…" she whimpered.

"His name is Naraku," Kagome said. "He's a yokai with a grudge against Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. He was just using you as a tool to kill them."

Naraku's eyes flared with hatred. "You don't know anything!"

"I know you're a twisted freak, and I'm taking you out," Inuyasha said. "Wind Scar!"

An attack made of wind and raw power flew from the sword and headed straight towards Naraku, who only erected a barrier that blocked the attack.

"I'm ending this," Naraku snarled, gripped in an insane furry. His anger was so intense that it made Kagome wonder if, in his own sick and twisted way, Naraku might really be in love with Kikyo. But Kikyo would probably hate him now, because Naraku had deceived her, and Kagome had shown her the truth.

Inuyasha tensed to meet Naraku's attack, but the attack never came. Instead, Naraku turned and flew at Sesshomaru, who was trying to fend off a group of people with spiritual powers. Inuyasha swore and dashed after him.

"Kagome."

Kagome turned and saw Miroku limping towards her and Kikyo. "Sorry I wasn't here to help. I think Naraku cracked one of my ribs when he hit me. What's wrong with Kikyo?"

Kagome looked back at Kikyo, who was staring straight ahead with lifeless eyes. Kagome bit her lip. "I think she's in shock. Can you get her out of here?"

Miroku nodded. "What are you planning to do?"

Kagome glared at the bow that Kikyo had dropped. "I'm going to help kill Naraku."


	17. Chapter 17

Miroku led Kikyo off and Kagome glared at the bow. She could see the taint in its power, but it didn't matter. She had to help Inuyasha, and this bow would work for her, taint or no taint.

Kagome picked up the bow; for a moment its glow intensified, and then settled back to normal. Kagome stared at it. The taint was gone!

_I'll wonder about that later. Right now, Inuyasha needs my help._

Kagome dashed towards Inuyasha, but paused at the edge of the fray. Naraku was viciously attacking Sesshomaru, helped by that woman with the fan. Inuyasha was kept at bay by that pale child and the group of humans.

Who should Kagome help first? And how did she use this bow anyways? Arrows made of energy had just seemed to appear for Kikyo, but Kagome wasn't sure how to get them.

Naraku dashed forward and clawed at Sesshomaru's chest, leaving bloody gashes. Naraku jumped back, one bloody fist clenched tightly around a chain from which a pink jewel hung.

"Now I shall destroy you all," Naraku crowed.

_Right, shooting at Naraku then._

Kagome pulled back on the string and was delighted when and arrow appeared. She aimed at Naraku's chest and let it fly.

The arrow missed Naraku by about six inches. It did, however, hit the jewel dead on. The jewel glowed brightly for a moment, and then shattered into hundreds of little pieces, flying over everyone's head, through the walls, and away to who knew where.

Everyone froze and stared at the broken chain in Naraku's hand, and then at Kagome.

"Um…oops," Kagome said.

"You broke the jewel," Sesshomaru growled. He looked as angry as Naraku did. It was then that Kagome realized that at some point during the battle Sesshomaru had lost his human guise. He was far more intimidating in his real form.

"Kagura, Hakudoshi, let's go," Naraku snapped. The woman and the pale child, Kagura and Hakudoshi, immediately followed Naraku out a large hole in the wall.

_Wait a second…we're on the bottom floor of a sky scraper, and there's a giant hole in the wall…this cannot be good._

As if in response to Kagome's thoughts, the whole building groaned. Suddenly Kagome found herself lifted in the air and tossed over Inuyasha's shoulder. He dashed outside with her, past the parking lot and across the street.

There were swarms of people, some injured, some not, standing out in the road and blocking traffic. Some people were standing in a dazed stupor, some were panicking, and some were trying to establish some kind of order. Of those that were trying to get some kind of order going, Kagome saw that quite a few were actually yokai who had dropped their human guises.

Inuyasha set Kagome on her feet, but kept her protectively close. Sesshomaru appeared beside them, grimly staring at his building. There was a rumble, signaling that the building's weakened foundations could no longer support its weight.

The building folded in on itself, roaring and crashing its way to the ground. Rubble and smoke flew through the air, but none of it went past the property lines of the building. Kagome stared in wonder.

_There's some kind of barrier keeping all of it in._

It would seem that Sesshomaru had prepared for almost every eventuality. Thoughtfully, Kagome paid more attention to the people around her, and realized they all looked like they could have come from Taisho Corp.

_That's right. There are yokai here, but I didn't see any of them in the battle. They must have been evacuating people._

"What happens now?" Kagome asked.

"You go home," Sesshomaru said. "I will deal with this."

"Kagome!"

Kagome turned to see Miroku and Sango coming towards her, pulling Kikyo along behind them.

"I thought you two were hurt," Kagome said.

"They have good medics," Miroku replied with a smile.

They might have been good, but they couldn't cure everything. Kagome noticed that Miroku kept the prayer beads wrapped around his hand tightly, and Kikyo still had a vacant, glassy eyed stare.

"Leave, now," Sesshomaru ordered, interrupting their little reunion. Then Kagome heard the sirens of firefighters and police as they rushed to the scene.

"Right, let's go," Kagome said.

They couldn't get to Miroku's car as it had been parked on the Taisho building's property, and couldn't have driven it through the crowds anyways even if they could have gotten to it, so the trip back to Kagome's home wound up lasting well over an hour.

They finally made it back, and Kagome thought she'd never been so happy to see any place in the world.

The front door flew open and Mrs. Higurashi and Souta ran out, followed by Grandpa and Uncle Ryou and Aunt Hina. Mrs. Higurashi and Souta caught Kagome in a tight embrace.

"Oh, Kagome, thank goodness you're alright!" Mrs. Higurashi said.

"What happened to Kikyo?" Uncle Ryou demanded.

"She'll be okay," Kagome said. "I think she's just in shock."

"What happened?" Souta asked.

"Let's all just go inside and we'll explain," Miroku said.

Kagome told them what had happened, and where Kikyo fit into the situation.

"So Onigumo was actually and evil yokai named Naraku?" Aunt Hina questioned. "But he always seemed like such a nice young man."

Kagome still wasn't sure how Naraku had ever convinced anyone he was nice. "Believe me, Naraku isn't nice."

"But why was he after Inuyasha and Sesshomaru?" Grandpa asked.

Kagome started to answer, and then hesitated. She looked up at Inuyasha, who was standing behind her seat on the couch. "Why was Naraku after you two?"

"He wanted that jewel you broke," Inuyasha said. "It's called the Shikon Jewel. It has the ability to make yokai far more powerful than they normally are, or to grant any wish. But it's an evil tool, and the results of the wish are never what you intend. For many generations, my family has been charged with guarding the jewel, so that evil people can't misuse it."

Kagome relayed all the information to her family.

"But you broke the jewel, so it's useless now," Sango said.

"No, it ain't," Inuyasha replied. "Each fragment of the jewel has the same power as the whole jewel. There's just a lot more of them now."

"Oh, no," Kagome said. She told the others what Inuyasha had said.

"So what now?" Uncle Ryou asked much like Kagome had earlier.

"I don't know," Kagome replied. "People are going to know about yokai now, there's no way to stop that. Sesshomaru seemed convinced that the discovery of yokai would start a war, but I really hope he's wrong." Kagome sighed. "Naraku got away, and I shattered the jewel."

What now, indeed.


	18. Chapter 18

Miroku and Sango both wound up spending the night over at Kagome's house that night. Everyone had been stressed out and exhausted, but no one had slept very well.

Kagome gave up trying to sleep at about six thirty the next morning. She had kept replaying all the events of the previous day over and over in her mind.

So much had happened in one day. Miroku arriving with his warning about Kikyo, Kagome warning Sesshomaru about the Society, being kidnapped by Koga and Shippo, and then the big fight with Naraku. All of that had happened within a matter of hours.

Kagome got up and slipped out of her room, careful not to wake Kikyo. Kikyo still hadn't spoken a word since discovering Naraku's betrayal. Kagome hopped that she would be better this morning whenever she woke up.

Kagome made her way to the kitchen and flipped the light on. She began preparing a pot of coffee. The Higurashi's weren't big coffee drinkers, but her mother did indulge in a cup of coffee every so often after a long day. As she waited for the pot to come to a boil, she heard quiet footsteps enter the kitchen. Turning, Kagome saw Inuyasha standing in the doorway.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Kagome replied quietly.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess," Kagome said. "I didn't sleep well, but I'm just worried. What's going to happen now? There's no way for Sesshomaru to keep the existence of yokai a secret anymore."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Maybe things will go back to the way they were before I got cursed."

"And what were human and yokai relations then?" Kagome asked.

"Not good," Inuyasha admitted. "Yokai believed they were superior, and humans thought of yokai as blood thirsty monsters."

"Some humans and yokai got along though," Kagome argued, not liking the information Inuyasha was giving her. "After all, you were born."

"Keh, I'm the exception, not the rule," Inuyasha said. "And in my time, hanyou were the lowest of the low. I'd have been killed as a pup if Sesshomaru hadn't forbidden it."

"But what about your parents?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha looked away. "They died."

Poor Inuyasha. Kagome felt her heart twist in sympathy. Her father had died when she was young, so she knew how bad it hurt to lose a parent. She didn't know what she would do if she lost her mother as well.

"At least you had Sesshomaru to look after you," Kagome said, although from her previous meetings she didn't know how great of a guardian he would be. Still, he had forbidden people from hurting Inuyasha, right?

Inuyasha snorted. "Sesshomaru didn't do anything for me. He told people they couldn't kill me as a pup because there was no honor in it. Once I grew up, he said that anyone who could beat me in a fight could kill me."

Kagome was horrified. She couldn't imagine giving someone permission to kill Souta. "That's horrible!" she exclaimed.

Inuyasha glanced over at her, and his face hardened. "Don't get sappy on me. It's over, and no one was ever strong enough to beat me."

But was it over? Was it really? Granted no one was attacking Inuyasha right now, but the emotional scars were definitely still there. Inuyasha had said to drop it though, so Kagome would.

She got up and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Would you like some, Inuyasha?" she asked.

"No," Inuyasha said.

"I would love a cup," Miroku said from the kitchen doorway.

"Miroku!" Kagome exclaimed, startled. "I didn't know you were up."

"I just woke up," he said, taking a seat at the table with Inuyasha.

Kagome poured a second cup of coffee and carried the mugs over to the table. As Miroku accepted his cup, Kagome's eyes landed on his hand, still wrapped with the prayer beads. Miroku noted her gaze and smiled wryly.

"It's not your fault, Kagome," Miroku said before she could even begin to apologize.

Kagome couldn't help but feel guilty though. If she had never gotten Miroku involved, then he wouldn't have to worry about a cursed hand.

"Do I smell coffee?"

"Good morning, Sango," Miroku said pleasantly.

Sango got a mug of coffee and headed to the table. "Good morning."

"Inuyasha's in that chair," Kagome said before Sango could try and pull his chair out.

"Oh, sorry, Inuyasha," Sango said before sitting in a different chair.

"I hate not knowing what's going to happen," Kagome complained after a few moments of silence. "And I hate not knowing what's going on right now. If only there was some way we could find out."

"We could try watching the news," Sango said.

Kagome blinked. "Do you really think they'd broadcast the existence of yokai on the news?"

"I'm not sure it would be possible for the government to keep it away from the media even if they wanted to," Miroku said. "An entire building collapsed because of yokai fighting, and hundreds of people saw that. It's impossible for this to be a secret anymore."

"Why'd they have to keep it all a secret anyways?" Sango asked. "It seems like this mess could have been avoided if they'd just stayed out in the open."

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha to see if he'd have an answer to that question, but he shook his head. "I was a statue during that meeting; I have no idea what Sesshomaru's reasoning was."

"Let's go see if there's anything about it on the TV," Kagome said.

The four of them went to the living room and turned the TV to the news station. There was a report about the collapse of the building, but so far the media didn't know the cause or have any information on the yokai.

The Souta and the adults had woken and wandered into the living room during the news broad cast. "Why didn't they say anything about the yokai?" Souta asked. "Is the government planning to keep it a secret?"

"They won't be able to for long," Miroku said. "There were too many people there; someone is going to talk soon."

There was a noise at the top of the stairs, and everyone looked up to see Kikyo coming down, a suitcase in each of her hands. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, who was tense and watching Kikyo with wary eyes.

"Kikyo, are you feeling okay?" Aunt Hina asked rushing over to her.

Kikyo brushed her mother's worried hands away. "I'm fine, Mother."

Kikyo didn't look fine; she didn't sound fine either. Her voice was flat and emotionless, her eyes dead and glassy. Her face looked like a china doll, pretty and blank.

Kikyo spoke to her parents saying, "I have packed my bags, and I request you two do the same. I would like to leave within the hour."

"But why?" asked Uncle Ryou.

"I refuse to stay in the same house as filth," Kikyo said, her eyes swinging in Inuyasha's direction.

"Keh," Inuyasha said turning his face away; he kept his eyes trained on Kikyo however.

"Kikyo," Kagome started, but Kikyo cut her off.

"Be quiet, Kagome," she ordered. "This weekend has convinced me of one thing at least; every yokai is a monster, and it is my duty to destroy all of them."

There was an emotion in Kikyo's eyes, Kagome realized. It was anger; not a raging fire of anger, but a quiet, slow burning anger, like banked coals that look cool, but are ready to set fire to the first thing that touches them.

Kikyo tilted her head slightly. "I shall show no mercy to yokai, or anyone else who helps them. Chose your side well Kagome, or the next time we meet may well be our last."

Kagome felt as if the air had been knocked from her lungs. Had…had Kikyo just threatened to kill her? Surely not; surely Kagome had heard her wrong. Her ears weren't working right or something. Kikyo would never, ever threaten to hurt Kagome. Never in a million years.

Souta stepped in between Kikyo and Kagome. "Get out, now," he said. "No one is allowed to threaten my sister."

Kikyo glanced at him and merely picked up her bags and walked out the front door.

"She didn't mean that," Uncle Ryou said, his face pale. "She didn't."

"She did," Aunt Hina said, tears slipping silently down her face. "God help us, she did." Aunt Hina turned to Mrs. Higurashi. "Nariko, I'm sorry, but we've got to go."

"It's okay," Mrs. Higurashi said. "I'll help you pack."

The three of them went upstairs and Kagome sank back down on the couch. Kikyo had really said that; she'd really threatened Kagome. _I don't understand; did Naraku's betrayal hurt her so bad that she doesn't care about anything but revenge now? Even if revenge means hurting her family?_

Kagome felt a tentative touch on her knee. Focusing, she found Inuyasha crouched in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Kagome's lips trembled somewhere between tears and laughter. What a stupid question; of course she wasn't okay.

Inuyasha hesitated before asking another question. "What can I do to help?"

Kagome slid off of the couch and clung to him. "Hold me; please just hold me."

Inuyasha's arms slipped around her waist and held her close as Kagome buried her face in his chest. His warmth and steady heart beat helped sooth her nerves, as did his smell. He smelled like the earth, pine trees, sunshine, and just a hint of that distinct dog smell all canine's have. He smelled like the perfect summer day.

"It'll be okay, Kagome," Inuyasha said gruffly.

Closing her eyes, Kagome could believe him.


	19. Chapter 19

Isia sat at the top of her tree, staring off into the distance. She had been born on this reservation, and had never set foot off of it. Her mother would tell her stories of what the outside world had been like, but Isia's mother hadn't left the reservation for hundreds of years; how would her mother know what it was like now?

Isia blinked back tears. Her mother would never be able to leave the reservation again.

* * *

Kagome had calmed down after Aunt Hina and Uncle Ryou left. The whole situation with Kikyo hurt, but she couldn't let it overcome her. Sitting and crying wouldn't get anything done. The question was what exactly did they need to do?

"Inuyasha," she said, "I've been thinking. Naraku was after the jewel right?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha said.

"Now that it's broken, he's still going to be going after it," Kagome said. "What if we go after the jewel too?"

"That's a good idea," Miroku said. "If the jewel really is as dangerous as Inuyasha said it was, we should make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

* * *

It wasn't right; it wasn't fair! Isia's mother had faded away in her sleep like so many other of the older yokai had. Isia was convinced that if they could just live out in the open that the older yokai would regain their hearts, and be well again. If they had been living in the open, her mother would never have died.

But no, the great and mighty Sesshomaru said they had to stay locked away on their reservation hiding from the humans. Isia hissed in anger. It was wrong! Sesshomaru was just a coward. The yokai deserved to be free, whether the humans liked it or not. And if they didn't like it? Well, the yokai were more powerful than them. The yokai ought to be the ones in charge.

* * *

"I don't know guys," Sango said. "If we go after the shards, that means we're going to run into Naraku again at some point. Our last fight with him didn't go over so well," she added, rubbing her shoulder where Naraku had stabbed her.

"I agree with Sango," Mrs. Higurashi said. "I don't want you kids putting yourselves in danger."

"But Mama," Kagome said. "I've put hundreds, maybe thousands of people in danger by breaking the jewel. I can't just sit back and do nothing while people get hurt because of my mistake!"

"But what about you?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. "I don't want you getting hurt, or even worse, killed!"

"Nothing bad will happen to Kagome," Inuyasha said, putting a hand on his sword. "I'll protect her."

"Inuyasha will keep me safe," Kagome said. "Mama please understand, I have to do this."

Mrs. Higurashi stared at Kagome, tears in her eyes and her lips tightly pressed together.

* * *

Isia had some friends that felt the same way she did. Perhaps if she talked to them, she could convince them to act on their feelings. They could leave the reservation; they could pave the way to freedom for all yokai.

_But what if Sesshomaru tries to stop us?_

Isia shivered with fear at the thought. She had only seen Sesshomaru once, when she was a kitten, but she remembered the feel of his power well. Isia's shoulders sagged. "I could never defeat Sesshomaru. He's too strong for me."

"Perhaps I can be of assistance."

* * *

"All right," Mrs. Higurashi said. "I don't like it, but if you feel like this is something you have to do, I'll support you."

Kagome was relieved. "Thank you, Mama."

"I guess this means I have to agree too," Sango said. "You're going to need someone sensible in the group."

"If you're going after yokai," Grandpa said, "you're going to need all the help you can get. Follow me."

They all followed Grandpa out of the house to a storage shed. "This is where I keep weapons that have been passed down from generation to generation," Grandpa said.

"Are they even any good anymore?" Kagome asked.

"Our family has taken meticulously good care of these weapons," Grandpa said, sounding insulted.

He opened the door of the shed. "Chose whatever strikes your fancy."

Miroku went in first, followed by Sango. Kagome didn't bother going in because she still had that magic bow that she'd taken from Kikyo, and obviously Inuyasha had his sword.

Miroku picked up a staff with a metal ring on top that had several metals rings hanging off of that. It jangled softly as he hefted it. "I like the feel of this one."

Sango picked up a simple sword. "Never thought my kendo lessons would come in this handy," she said. "I'll have to practice though. My sword skills are going to be a bit rusty."

"I have a feeling we'll get plenty of practice," Miroku said dryly.

* * *

Isia jumped to her feet and spun around to see a man wearing a baboon pelt a few trees away. "Who are you?" she asked suspiciously. "I've never seen you before, and I've met every yokai on this reservation."

"I am a friend who wants the same thing you do," the man replied. "You want the yokai to be free, correct? To take our rightful place above the humans?"

"Yes," Isia said. Grief and anger fueled her determination. "_Yes._"

"Then take this," the man said extending his hand. In it he held a small fragment of a pink jewel.

"What is it?" Isia asked suspiciously.

"It is a fragment of the Shikon Jewel," the man said. "Sesshomaru lost the jewel and it was shattered. He has hardly proved himself a worthy guardian. I managed to find this one piece, and I'm willing to give it to you for your uses."

* * *

"Looks like you guys are getting prepared. That's good."

The group whirled around to see Shippo lounging against the side of the shed. "Shippo!" Kagome said. "What are you doing here?"

"Sesshomaru sent me," Shippo replied. "He's going to be busy with politics for a while. During that time, he wants you to gather the jewel shards. He also ordered me to go with you."

Kagome was relieved. Having a kitsune with them would be useful. "How are things with Sesshomaru?"

"They haven't announced it to the media yet, but the United Nations are going to be gathering to decide what to do about yokai," Shippo replied. "Sesshomaru will try to reason with them, but he's pretty sure they won't be happy about us being real."

"What would be the point in trying to fight yokai?" Souta asked. "If you guys wanted to attack us you'd have done it a long time ago."

"You know that and I know that, but politicians aren't always that reasonable," Shippo said. "We'll have to wait and see what happens."

* * *

Isia eyed the jewel fragment. She wanted to take it; she could feel its power calling out to her. But could she really trust this man?

"I won't make this offer twice," the man warned her when she hesitated.

Isia decided then. She snatched the jewel out of his hand and instantly felt power rush through her. Yes. With this, she could do anything and defeat anyone, even Sesshomaru.

_I will take yokai to the place they deserve._

* * *

Rin stared out her bedroom window which overlooked the front lawn and drive way of Chikao Taisho's mansion. Mr. Taisho was supposed to have been home by now, but he wasn't, and the news had talked about his building collapsing. Mr. Jaken, Mr. Taisho's butler, had insisted that Mr. Taisho was okay, but Rin worried that something horrible had happened to Mr. Taisho.

The door to her bedroom opened, and there stood Mr. Jaken. He was short and stocky, with eyes that were too big and pasty greenish skin, but Rin had taken a liking to the gruff butler. "Rin," Mr. Jaken said, "I need to tell you something."

"Is Mr. Taisho okay?" she whimpered, instantly filled with fear for her benefactor.

"He's fine," Mr. Jaken quickly said. "What I need to tell you about is…is yokai."

* * *

Leather gloved hands carefully picked up a small fragment of a jewel. Most people wouldn't have noticed it lying on the ground. Krista Drake was not the average person, however.

"What is it, Krista?" Saito, Krista's Companion, asked.

Krista stared at the jewel shard. "Trouble." She looked up at Saito. "We're going to need back up on this one, Saito."

Saito scowled, his usual expression. "I will call the Hunters."

* * *

Kagome stepped out of the front door and looked down the steps of the shrine leading towards the road and beyond. They were about to start a great journey, and despite the dangers, Kagome couldn't help but feel excited.

"You know," Inuyasha said from beside her, "this quest would be a lot easier if you broke the curse on me."

Kagome glanced at him, and felt herself blush slightly. Kagome didn't dislike the idea of being in a relationship with Inuyasha, but…

"I won't marry you for convenience," Kagome said. "But if you stay with me…I might marry you for love."

She looked away from him, not sure she wanted to see his expression to that statement. She felt him take her hand in his. "I'll be here. Always."


End file.
